Missing You
by kal1
Summary: After the End Game, Lucy and Amy lived together. After 7 months, they separated.
1. Chapter 1

**Disclaimer: I do not own DEBS or any of the characters used from the movie. They belong to Angela Robinson. This disclaimer applies to all chapters in this story.**

**Comment: This is my first try to write anything. This is an AU fic. I have the scenes in my head but found that writing them is extremely difficult. I believe that the only way to improve is to write more. **

**Chapter 1**

It was a beautiful day. One could see brown geese walking across the road in groups, healthy trees with lush and green landscapes, birds flying in flocks in a v-configuration pattern, and a blue sunlit sky with soft clouds. The scenery was so beautiful, so peaceful; one could just stand there for hours admiring the view.

She stood in front of the large window on the 8th floor of an office building, staring straight into the blue horizon. In front of this magnificent view, however, there was sadness on her face. She closed her eyes and let the memories flow into her mind.

3 years ago

They had been together for 7 months, living a simple life in Barcelona. Lucy had quit her criminal life to be with the DEB. While Amy took classes in the Barcelona Academy of Art, Lucy spent her time managing her sailboat rental business. Business was not great but they were able to live comfortably with her Dad's "retirement" funds.

"Are you all packed?"

"Lucy, you asked me that ten times already." Amy answered, with a little frustration.

"Here, let's go over the checklist again." Lucy asked while holding a pen and a list filled with Scud's inventions.

"Lucy!" Amy yelled. "I'm not planning a heist. I'm just going on a field trip with my class to Paris for a school project. It's just going to be 3 days."

"I know. I know. It's just that I'm going to miss you so much." Lucy spoke with a worried expression.

She walked over to the brunette and wrapped her hands around her. "I know, honey. It's just a 2 hr flight. I promise I'll call every day."

Lucy rested her head on the blonde's shoulder and nodded. "Oh..one more thing." She held out a jewelry box.

Surprised and with jaws wide open, Amy opened the box and found a bracelet inside. "Lucy, this is beautiful." "What's the occasion?"

"I had Scud made this. If you press this button here, you can use it like a pepper spray. And here, you can pull a 5ft wire that's stronger than steel. Would you believe they discovered this material in Yale?" _(This is true - search under stronger-steel-novel-metals-are-moldable-plastic yalenews)_

"No way!" Amy said, pretending to be shocked and interested.

"Yup. Anyways, I had Scud transformed the material into a wire. If you press these 2 buttons together, it will emit a tiny laser that can cut through metal. And sliding this little lever here will release a drop of serum, sort of like a sleeping pill, only 10 times more effective.

Amy rolled her eyes while listening to the brunette. She thought to herself _"..as if all the gadgets she had me bring weren't enough"_…

"OK…Luce, let's go to the airport. I don't want to be late." Amy did in fact like the bracelet from her overprotective girlfriend. Even though it's not a regular bracelet that one would give to their love one, but it's the thought that counts.

Outside the airport

Lucy and Amy held each other tight.

"Have fun, honey." Lucy said while resting her head on the tall blonde's shoulder.

"I will." Amy kissed her cheek.

They leaned their foreheads against each others' before sharing a long slow passionate kiss.

"Mom, look!" A boy, standing next to them shouted loudly.

This startled the lovers and they broke the kiss immediately. They looked at the boy and then looked to where the boy was pointing. It was an amazing sight. They saw birds, lots of them, flying in a V-shaped formation, from left to right. The swarm of birds then flew out of formation, flying in circles together, becoming extremely loud. Finally they formed the v configuration again and flew away…

…and that was the last time she saw her.


	2. Chapter 2

Chapter 2

Back to present, Paris, France

Several rings on the office phone brought her out of her deep thoughts. As she wiped away a single tear rolling down her cheeks, she answered the phone.

"Hello…yes…I didn't forget…uh huh…see you there."

She picked up her wallet and head out the door.

"Jen, I'm going to lunch now." She said to her secretary. "I'll be back in an hour."

Café de Paris

Café de Paris is located in the center of Paris near the La Seine. Outside the restaurant, several round tables and seats were placed where customers can enjoy traditional meals or American meals and fantastic cocktails while watching the world go by.

As Lucy sat herself across from Scud, a pretty, young waitress walked to their table to take their orders.

"Would you like to try today's lunch special? Today's special is ___Escargots_ à la Bourguignonne." After hearing today's special, Scud shivered at the thought of slimy, squirmy slugs in a shell drowned in butter on a plate. After living in Paris for 2 years, he couldn't understand how people can consider them as delicacies. So Scud ordered himself a well-done steak with mushroom and a dry martini.

"I'll have the usual and a….." She hesitated for a moment. "...a peach smoothie." Lucy decided.

"The usual?" the waitress questioned.

"Excusez-moi, mademoiselle Holmes, she is new here." Anton, the manager interrupted.

"I see. That's ok, Anton." Lucy thanked Anton while giving a smile and nod to the waitress.

After the order, Lucy propped her chin in the palm of her right hand and leaned her elbow on the table. Her head turned slightly to the left and her eyes stared blankly at nothing; lost in her thoughts. Having been Lucy's right hand man for more than a decade, Scud noticed this look. Without saying a word, he gazed at her.

* * *

It was an explosion on the plane that killed her blonde lover. That day, Amy was on the flight back to Barcelona. Last words heard from her was: "I'll see you in about 2 hours. Love ya…" Her promise was never kept.

The airline stated it was an accident. They said a flock of birds had flown into the plane's engine causing the engine to malfunction and ultimately led to an explosion in the air. A hundred passengers died along with Amy's classmates from the Art School. After the incident was broadcasted around the world, Lucy and Scud took the next available flight to Paris. It was the most agonizing 2 hour trip she had ever taken, just sitting, waiting, praying. They confirmed from the airline in the Orly airport in Paris that Amy was indeed on the plane at the time.

After Amy's death, the brunette had drowned her sorrows in alcohol. Each night when she came home drunk, Scud comforted her, cried with her, and pleaded with her to stop but all attempts failed until one day her continuous drinking landed her a visit to the emergency room. After that night of near-death experience, seeing her friend in tears, she found the strength to live on. They decided to settle in Paris, France with their new identities: Keira Holmes and Scott Watson.

* * *

After 5 minutes of silence, Scud asked. "Lucy, what's wrong?"

Lucy did not respond immediately. "...Nothing..."

"Peach smoothie? Did the doctor say the problem is back?"

"No, Scud. My liver's fine. I haven't had alcohol since…" Lucy trailed off. "You see. I'm in great shape." Lucy said while flexing her biceps. "I bet I'm in better shape than you are." Scud rolled his eyes at this comment.

"Then what is it?"

Lucy had thoughts about Amy again. If she had told Scud, she would get another long lecture from him. So she decided to hide the truth from him. She couldn't tell him what she was thinking. She couldn't tell him that she didn't believe that Amy's dead. There was something inside her, something she couldn't explain, something that made her feel that Amy is still alive. Was it all in her mind? Was she in a state of denial? If she told Scud about this, she was sure he'd send her to a psychiatrist.

"Nothing. I was just thinking about the meetings for tomorrow." Lucy lied.

"Take it easy. Our businesses are running smoothly. This is the time to relax." Scud leaned back, stretched out his hands and placed them behind his head while rocking his chair back and forth.

It had been about 3 years now since they quit their criminal life. They are in different country and they had new identities. With the increasing crimes in US, they were no longer on the list of the America's most wanted criminals. Scud had somehow got the information that the DEBS had stopped looking for them because they didn't have enough resources. With the current deficit crisis in US, they were surprised that the D.E.B.S organization still exists.

After they settled in Paris, it was Scud's idea to open a business specializing in security surveillance systems, gaming and security software. After all, these are his interests and "the God of Bingo" is doing what he loves.

Paris is known as "The City of Love". But like any large city, it has its fare share of crimes: petty theft, kidnapping, burglaries, etc. Opening a company that sells security surveillance systems was definitely one of Scud's best ideas. Their company is doing so well, it now employs a hundred people. With other investments on the side, they're living in a "carefree" life.

"How about a blind date?" Scud asked suddenly.

"What?" Lucy questioned.

"Come on, Luce. It's been 2 years. You have to get out there." He paused, his eyes rolled up, a brief moment of deja vu crossed his mind.

"I am out there. You know what happened to the last blind date I had."

"She was gorgeous, Lucy, and when I say 'get out there', I don't mean going to the gym, taking sparring classes and taking cooking lessons."

"Yes, Scud. She was gorgeous. But there were no 'sparks'. I felt like.. like she's my sister." Lucy explained.

"Lucy, you don't have a sister. So how would you know what having a sister would be like?"

"Yes, but I have you. You're like my brother and I don't want to kiss you. That's how I felt with her. I didn't want to kiss her. Comprendre." Lucy said calmly, shivered at the thought, and leaned back with her arms crossed.

"Excuses, excuses." Scud rolled his eyes.

While they were having their conversation, they didn't notice that their waitress was staring at them the whole time. After 15 minutes, the waitress brought the food and placed two napkins on the table and 2 glasses of water on the napkins.

"And an extra napkin for you. If you need anything, please let me know. My name is Alexis." The waitress said and walked away with a seductive smile.

Both Scud and Lucy, without blinking, watched the blonde waitress walked to another table, then slowly turned their heads toward each other. Their eyes, at the same time, changed direction and focused on the napkin. She picked up the napkin, turned it over and found 10 digits written on it. Their jaws dropped simultaneously.

"Next time, I'm going to order peach smoothie too." Scud said, wiggling his eyebrows up and down with a smile.

* * *

Halfway through their meal, as Scud was about to ask a question, Lucy sprang to her feet. "Stay here, I'll be right back." She said while her eyes focused on something far away and she quickly darted across the street.

"W-what, wait, where're you going?" His question was unanswered and his eyes followed the brunette to the other side of the street.

She turned left around the corner, ran several more yards and made a sudden stop. Her eyes searched and scanned everywhere. The streets were filled with cars, scooters, and people. She turned herself around, looked everywhere but she could not find what she was looking for. To refocus, she closed her eyes and took several deep breaths before opening them again.

After waiting for a few minutes, Scud was relieved when he saw his boss walking back to the table.

"What happened?"

"Oh, I saw a pickpocket so I ran after him." Lucy lied..again.

"Did you get him?"

"Ah yeah, I gave him some money and let him go."

"You did what?"

"He was only 7 years old. What am I supposed to do?" Lucy said. _If I keep this up, I might just be the next perfect liar. _

As they were about to continue eating, a man dressed in a dark blue suit approached them.

"Keira, Scott, what a coincidence to see you here. I just called your secretary to leave a message."

"Bonjour, Michel." Scud and Lucy said simultaneously and invited him to sit next to them.

"This is not about business. I'm having a party tonight at the Hotel Ritz Paris. I was wondering if you are interested." Michel asked.

After hearing the word party, Scud immediately accepted the invitation. Lucy stared at him and kicked him in the shin causing him to yelp. Michel looked at him wondering what was wrong and turned towards Lucy as she started to speak. "Is this a formal party?"

Michel gave out a small laugh. He knew how much Lucy had hated formal gatherings. There were many times when she was invited to them, but he had never seen her there. It had always been Scud who attended them. "Actually, it's going to be small semi-casual with some close friends and family and few business associates." After he explained that it was a surprise birthday party for his daughter, they happily accepted the invitation.

Michel Couric is a good-looking and wealthy man with dark hair; a man in his early 40's with the looks of a 30 year old. His father is a well-known businessman. Following his father's footsteps, he also made a name for himself in the financial world. He had known Lucy and Scud for a few months when he bought security surveillance systems from them for his multiple properties, investment firms and restaurants. The retired criminals always enjoyed talking with the entrepreneur because not only does he seem to be a down to earth kind of a guy, his vast knowledge on real estate, securities, asset management and investments made every conversation very interesting. With the information that they learned from him, they were able to make good judgments on their own investments.

* * *

Hotel Ritz Paris

Dressed in black flare pants with a grayish silver v-neck top, the former criminal mastermind stepped out of her black BMW M5. Accompanied by his loyal henchman who wore black khaki slacks and dark blue shirt, Lucy and Scud walked to the entrance of the famous Hôtel Ritz Paris. Once inside the hotel, they were greeted by the hotel's staff and led to the banquet hall. This lovely hotel was truly a masterpiece. The exquisite French decor was unparalleled. There were security guards inside and outside.

The first thing Lucy noticed inside the banquet hall was the high cathedral ceilings. It reminded her of the first time she saw her girlfriend gliding down at the Les Deau Amours.

"He's more loaded than I thought. All this for a birthday party for a little girl." Lucy whispered. Scud, with his mouth and eyes wide open, nodded in agreement.

"Thank you for coming." Michel greeted them and walked them to their table. As they sat down, he glanced everywhere as if looking for someone. Meanwhile, Scud handed the present to Lucy, who handed it to Michel.

"I'll make sure she gets it." Michel thanked them again and politely excused himself to meet other guests.

"Well, we can't just sit here. Let's mingle." Scud said as he walked over to someone he recognized. There were a few familiar faces. Not wanting to make small talk or talk about business for that matter, she just waved at them. The brunette walked over to the open bar and ordered herself a _piña_ colada.

On the dance floor, there were old and young folks dancing to soft rock. The music wasn't too loud, so people could have a conversation without yelling over each other. Kids gathered in another side of the room to be entertained by a magician. What captured a lot of peoples' attention was a little girl about 6 years old dancing with a young pretty woman in a blushed color ruched strapless cationic chiffon dress. Males, young and old, can't take their eyes off her. Guests gathered around them and clapped as the little girl did her own silly moves. _I wondered if that's the birthday girl._ After the music stopped, she clapped along with everyone else, spun herself around and focused on her drink.

A few minutes later, a woman stood next to her. "Hi."

The brunette turned around and immediately recognized the woman. She has yellowish brown hair with a face as innocent looking as Janet but as confident as Dominique.

"Hi." Lucy replied and waited for the woman to speak first.

The young woman stared at her. _I can't believe she's here. What a coincidence. Must be fate. But it doesn't look like she recognizes me. _After several seconds of silently staring at each other, the young woman said, a statement more than a question. "You don't recognize me."

"…..Sure I do. You were just over there dancing with the little girl." Lucy said with a smile, pointing to the dance floor.

_Shoot, she really doesn't recognize me._ "Yessss, but that's not what I meant." As she was about to say something else, the bartender came by and asked what she would like. "I'll have….what she's having." She pointed to Lucy's drink. The bartender nodded and went to prepare her drink.

"I don't think you want what I'm drinking."

"And why not? You don't think I'm old enough or you don't think I can hold the liquor?"

"No…that's not what I meant."

The young woman stepped closer to the brunette and leaned towards her; her face an inch away from Lucy's. She whispered seductively in her right ear. "I may look young but I can assure you that I am old enough to do a lot of things." She slowly glided her fingers onto the brunette's beautifully tanned right forearm down to the hand that held the drink. She smoothly took the drink away from her hand and moved it towards her pale pink glossy lips. After taking a big gulp of her drink, she gave the brunette a questioning look. Lucy shrugged her shoulders and smirked with raised eyebrows.

It was a **virgin** piña colada.


	3. Chapter 3

**Chapter 3**

As the slender young woman was about to speak, she was once again interrupted.

"There you are." Michel spoke as he stood next to the woman.

"I see that you've met my daughter."

"Your daughter?" Lucy asked, a little stocked.

"Yes, she's my oldest."

Lucy offered her hand out and grinned. "Nice to meet you." She paused. "...Alexis."

Alexis accepted the handshake with a big grin. _So she does recognize me. Liar…and a very attractive one._

"Alexis, this is Keira Holmes. Keira owns her own business and she's only a few years older than you. I'm sure you can learn a lot from her."

_I'm sure._ Alexis thought to herself.

After her father finished the introduction, he pulled Lucy to the side to speak privately.

"Keira, I was wondering if you could do me a favor." Michel asked. "You see, Alexis just graduated from college a few months ago and she just got back. She doesn't have any close friends here and I was wondering if you could spend some time with her….you know…go shopping, movies, girl to girl talk, do whatever you girls do. I have a feeling that she's comfortable talking with you."

_I think she wants to do something more than go shopping with me._ Before Lucy could protest, Alexis interrupted and spoke in a soft voice. "Dad, it's almost time. Is Ashley here yet?"

Michel looked at his watch and looked around. He then took out his cell phone and excused himself.

"So…you do remember me."

"I never forget a pretty face." _Shit, why did I just say that? Say something else, damn it. _Lucy cleared her throat. "Ummmh…why were you working at Café De Paris?"

"I just got back from vacation. My dad said his restaurant needed temporary help, so I thought I work there for a while to make some extra bucks. I'm currently looking for a job in fashion design.

"I would think your dad should be able to help you with that."

"He could, but I don't want him to. I want to do it on my own. If I could get a job myself without any of his help, without any of his connections, that would be so much more satisfying."

Without realizing, she continued to take a sip of Lucy's drink, while keeping her eyes locked to the beautiful tan brunette in front of her. "Who's the guy you came here with?"

_SO, she recognized me the moment I stepped into this room_. "Oh, umm…that's Scott, a friend of mine, my business partner." Both looked over to where Scott was standing. It seemed like he is having a good time, showing off some of his small toy inventions to some kids, which attracted a few female guests.

Trying to change the subject, "What school did you graduated from? Your dad just told me…"

"Central Saint Martins in London." Alexis placed the drink down on the table, took two steps back and spun herself around showing off her dress. When she came to a full circle, she stopped and noticed how the brunette looked at her from top to bottom, from bottom to top. Satisfied with the effects she made on the brunette. "What do you think?"

_..I think that is one sexy …strapless…bodacious curves…radiant skin, smooth and toned…long silky smooth legs…_

_Shit, what the hell are you doing…Diamond…focus, focus… _

Lucy shook herself out of her inner thoughts. "I…I think it's beautiful. It fits you perfectly."

"I made it myself." Lucy was surprised to hear that it wasn't made by a famous designer.

"Wow…you truly have a talent." Lucy complimented.

"Merci." She stepped closer to the brunette and looked into her eyes. "Just out of curiosity, would you have given me a call if we haven't met tonight?"

_What should I say? I don't want to hurt her feelings. _Lucy hesitated. Before she could answer, she was interrupted by a little girl who grabbed onto Alexis's hand.

"C'mon, let's go dancing." Said the cute little girl who pulled her towards the dance floor. "My brother wants to dance with you too."

As she was dragged involuntarily to the dance floor by the 6 year old, Alexis mouthed "help me." The former master criminal just smiled and waved her hand.

Lucy walked back to her table and was later joined by Scud. It looked like all the guests had arrived. Most of the seats were filled. Some are still on the dance floor. She noticed that Alexis was looking at her, rolling her eyes, while dancing with a man. Must be the little girl's brother. It had been half an hour already. They wondered when the birthday girl is going to show up.

"Did you know Michel has 2 daughters?" Scud shook his head. After telling him that the waitress at Café De Paris was Michel's daughter, he too was a little shocked.

"Does he know his daughter is ..into woman?" Scud asked out of the blue.

Lucy shrugged. "I don't think so." She thought for a moment. _How did she even know that I'm gay?_ She made a mental note to ask her that next time.

"Testing 123, testing 123. Hello everyone." Michel got everyone's attention as he spoke thru the microphone. "It seems that my little girl is a little shy tonight. Actually, she just flew back this morning from Italy and caught a cold." A sound of 'awwww' was heard throughout the room. "She's fine. No worries. She's at home resting. I would just like to thank everyone for coming. Thank you for your presents. Please, everyone enjoy the rest of the party." He handed the microphone to a waiter, greeted everyone he passed by, and left the room in a hurry.

"Hmmm…that's odd." Scud said.

"Well, since the birthday girl's not here. Do you want to go?" Lucy asked, since she rather stayed home watching old dvds.

Scud spotted waiters with trays above their shoulders. "Oh look, they're serving dinner. Let's eat first. I'm starving."

* * *

1 day later

Michel paced back and forth in his furnished office in his house. His assistant, Jehan, anxiously waiting, stood near him. Sitting on the sofa was Alexis with swollen eyes, folding her hands and clasping the palms together. She had been crying all night. A look of worry covered their faces. _Knock..Knock.._Everyone jumped at the sound and looked towards the door. Jehan quickly opened the door and a man in a gray suit handed him a suitcase.

"Do we have enough?" Michel asked.

"We're short €400,000, sir."

"Damn it." As he slammed his fist on the desk, the loud noise made Alexis jump.

"We have to call the police." Alexis urged.

Michel walked over to the sofa and knelt before her. He held her trembling hands and spoke softly to his daughter. "Honey, we can't call the police. They'll do something to Ashley if they find out. Listen to me, sweetheart, we can't let anyone else know about this. We'll just give them the money and they'll let them go. Please promise me, you cannot let anyone else know about this." Alexis nodded.

"Sir, maybe we can ask her for help." Jehan suggested.

"Who?"

"Ms. Holmes." At the mention of the brunette's name, Alexis looked up and became very interested in what Jehan had to say. Michel was confused by his suggestion.

"Aside from her security business, I've heard that she also runs a small private investigation agency."

"Are you sure? I've never heard of this."

"But she doesn't accept all jobs and she only does it at her leisure." Jehan continued.

As he pondered for a moment, he started to pace back and forth again. He sighed heavily and stopped.

"Give me her number."


	4. Chapter 4

Chapter 4

Bois Notre-Dame (25 miles from Paris, France)

"When is daddy going to be here?"

"He'll be here tomorrow, sweetie. He said he's getting you a big gift for your birthday and he wanted to surprise you. Why don't you go watch some cartoons and we can play some games later. Ok, Ashley?"

"Ok, mama." The little blond girl walked over to the tv and pressed the play button on the dvd player.

They had been in the house since yesterday. When she woke up, she was terrified and confused. She found herself lying on the bed with Ashley sleeping next to her. They're in a 1200sqft house with 1 bedroom, 1 bathroom, a small kitchen and a large play area. Everything looked normal except that the windows have steel bars outside and the locked door was made of steel. Multiple surveillance cameras were set up in every corner in every room. The refrigerator had food; enough for a week.

That was the day they came back from Italy. She was supposed to bring Ashley back to the banquet for her surprise party after shopping. This was not the surprise that everyone had in mind.

When she found the note in the kitchen cabinet, she understood why they were brought here. The note said 'As soon as we get the money, you are free to go. For the little girl's sake, please don't do anything foolish.'

They had taken her cell phone. The house was surrounded by trees; not a person in sight. They were being watched. They were trapped. There was nothing she could do except keep Ashley from knowing the truth and pray.

* * *

Lucy's office

8AM

Michel and Alexis sat on the couch while Lucy and Scud sat on the armchairs. She noticed that Alexis did not look as cheerful or confident as she did from the party. The look of worry and fatigue on both the father and daughter was apparent.

"What can I do for you?" Lucy asked.

Michel looked towards her daughter. "Honey, can you go outside while I talk to Keira and Scott privately?"

"Dad, please…I want to be here."

Previously, Michel had tried to convince her daughter to stay in the house but was unsuccessful. His attempt to have a private conversation failed again. He sighed heavily.

The former criminals looked at each other. After a few seconds, Lucy walked over to Alexis and held her left hand. "Alexis, would you excuse us for a moment? I would like to talk to your father alone."

"But..but…" Alexis protested but ultimately gave in to the beautiful brunette with that killer smile in front of her. After all, this is her office. Lucy led her out of the office and closed the door behind her.

With his hands holding his forehead and elbows leaning on each of his thighs, he lowered his head as he thought about what to say next. "This is really difficult for me, but I need to ask you for another favor. I need to ask if you have €400,000 in cash. I can wire you the money immediately. I just need to have it in cash."

After a few seconds of silence, Lucy asked calmly. "I assume that you are in some kind of trouble and you cannot let anyone else know about this."

Michel nodded.

"May I ask what you need this for?"

Tears brim his eyes as he spoke. "I rather you didn't….because…because…..I promise I will tell you after this is over."

Lucy pondered for a moment. "When do you need it?"

"By 12PM."

"Scott?"

"That….is a problem. We don't have that much cash lying around." Scott stated. Michel, unhappy with the response, covered his face again, and became more worried.

A moment later, Lucy walked over and put one hand on his shoulder. "We'll see what we can do." She gave him a reassuring smile.

After hearing this, a small grin appeared on his face. He shook both of their hands and thanked them.

Scud walked him out of the office and closed the door behind him.

"Dad?" Alexis asked.

After her dad gave her a nod and a smile, she knew it was a good sign.

"Wait here, Dad, I want to thank her myself." Her dad nodded.

Hearing the knock on the door, Lucy invited Alexis to come inside.

As soon as the door was closed, Alexis jumped onto Lucy and wrapped her hands around her shoulder tightly. This sudden impact almost caused the brunette to lose her balance. "Wooo"

"I just want to say thank you." Alexis tighten the hold, feeling the closeness of their bodies, taking in the vanilla scent of the brunett's hair, and not wanting to let go.

"Aaah….you're welcome." Lucy managed to say and patted her back gently. Their bodies were so close together, she felt her face flushing. _I haven't been this close to a woman since…Amy_. She thought. _Amy_. She quickly tried to break free of the embrace, but before she did, there was a knock on the door, which caused Alexis to release the hold.

"You should go home and get some sleep." Lucy said sympathetically. Alexis agreed.

* * *

"Is that really going to be a problem, Scud?"

"No." He said confidently. Lucy looked at him with one eyebrow raised.

"Well, we can't let anyone know how much we have lying around. Now, can we?" He chuckled.

"Should we look into it? He asked.

"See what you can find out." Lucy decided. Scott nodded.

Scud opened the door and before he leaves, he asked. "So what were you guys doing just now?"

"What?" Lucy was surprised at the question.

"You and Alexis...both of you had red cheeks when I came in."

"Nothing...and it's none of your business...geez."

"Did she kiss you?"

"Scud!" Lucy shouted and Scud quickly closed the door behind him, but not before giving her a wink and a lopsided smile. She let out a deep breath and lay her head back on the black leather office chair and closed her eyes.

* * *

12 PM Afternoon -Couric house

"They're here, sir."

This is the first time Lucy and Scud been to the Couric house. As they entered the main door, they were met by Michel and Jehan. They were quickly led to the office on the second floor. Michel looked extremely tired, like he hadn't slept for days. As Lucy handed him the duffle bag, he thanked them again. While the assistant counted the money, he had the butler brought in some coffee and pastries for his guests. The former criminals noticed that Michel was very tense; his hands were shaking; he's constantly moving, he looked as though he's going to have an anxiety attack any minute.

After his assistant finished counting, he nodded to his boss. "I thank you again for your help." Michel said and escorted them to the main door.

As they were about to leave the house, they heard Alexis calling. "Keira, you're here."

"Dad, I want to talk to Keira for a few minutes." Michel agreed and went back upstairs.

"Scott, I'll meet you in the car." Scud nodded.

Alexis slowly reached out and held Lucy's hand. "I just want to say thank you again."

"It's not a problem. I'm glad I could help."

Lucy felt awkward as the young woman gazed wordlessly at her.

"Ummm, where's the birthday girl?" Lucy asked, breaking the silence and the gaze.

"Who?"

"Your sister. I was wondering if she liked the present I got for her."

"Oh…umm…she's taking a nap…and she hasn't opened her presents yet. uhhh…..I shouldn't keep your friend waiting in the car. So, I guess I'll see you some other time."

"Sure, ok." Lucy waved good-bye.

* * *

Lucy jumped into the passenger's side of her BMW.  
As soon as she closed the door, she told Scud. "The birthday girl got kidnapped."

"What! How do you know?"

"I just asked Alexis where her sister is and she took too long to answer."

"Maybe, she's just tired."

"She also said her sister didn't open any of her presents yet. Now I don't know about you, but when I was a little girl, the first thing I do when I get my presents is open them."

Scud stayed silent.

"And she let go of my hands when I mentioned her sister. I didn't even have to make an excuse."

"Maybe she's not into you anymore." Scud rolled his eyes.

Lucy punched his arm.

"OWWW." Scud yelled.

"OK, OK. You might be right." He said, rubbing the bruised area. _She didn't show up last night and he left the party early. He asked us for help this morning._ He tried to put all the pieces together. "Should we follow him?"

"We can't do anything now. It seems like he's ready to make the drop. "We don't even know if we're being watched." She looked outside and did a quick scan. "Let's go back for now."


	5. Chapter 5

**Chapter 5**

Back inside the house, Michel, Jehan, and Alexis were anxiously waiting for instructions from the kidnappers. It's 2:00PM. They don't know if they were going to get a call or get a mysterious note like the last time. All they could do was sit there and wait. There was complete silence.

Suddenly, the window glass shattered and they all jumped away from the window. Jehan approached the side of the window and looked outside, but did not find anything abnormal. On the floor, there was a small round shaped object that wasn't there before. It was a note….from the kidnappers.

* * *

**Lucy's office**

"What did you find out, Scud?"

"Aside from his businesses that we already know about, here's his other personal information." He handed her a folder and sat down on the couch. "Couric had been married twice. His girlfriend got pregnant at 19 and they got married after Alexis was born. After 3 years of marriage, they divorced due to irreconcilable differences. He and his parents had been taken care of Alexis ever since. His ex-wife later remarried, moved to England and now has her own family."

"So…Alexis didn't get to see much of her mother, then." Lucy said softly. "That must be difficult for her." Scott nodded.

_England. Is that why she chose to go to college there?_ She thought to herself.

"At 35, Michel remarried and Ashley was born 2 years later. This is even more heartbreaking…After giving birth, his second wife died due to complications."

"Jesus!…poor guy." Lucy said sympathetically. If anyone would know the feeling of losing someone, it would be her. When she heard about the Amy's demise, her heart ached so much, it felt like someone had stabbed her with a knife…again and again and again…

"Yeah…poor Ashley."

"Is he currently dating anyone?

"Nope, no news on that. He isn't exactly a celebrity, you know... and he isn't that rich to be stalked by paparazzies."

"But he is rich enough to have someone kidnap his daughter." She paused and thought about what she had just said.

"He also donates to several charities each year." Scud added.

"He's not famous…he's not a celebrity…there are a lot of others who are wealthier than him, so why would someone kidnap his daughter?" Lucy questioned.

They both pondered for a moment.

At the same time, the former criminals spoke, "Revenge."

* * *

Following the instructions on the kidnapper's note, Michel instructed Jehan to put the money into 2 garbage bags; Jehan will drive to one location with one bag and he himself will drive to another with the other bag. At the destination, Michel dropped the garbage bag into the designated trashcan. It was garbage day on a busy area with cars parked on one side of the street. The area was occupied by low-income houses, apartments and small stores. As he watched the garbage truck empty the trashcan that contained the money, he stood there waiting for his next instructions, with his eyes following the garbage truck. The sound of his phone startled him.

It was Jehan on the other line. "Sir, I have the instructions. I have to go to Montesson within an hour."

"Ok, you go then and keep me informed."

The garbage truck turned around the corner and he could no longer see it. After 10 minutes, he was approached by a young boy on a bicycle who handed him an envelope and rode away. He had wanted to ask the boy who he got it from, but he stopped himself from doing so. Hearing from Jehan, there was time limit involved. Trembling with fear, unable to keep his hands steady due to lack of sleep and worry, he had trouble opening the envelope without tearing the note inside.

Stuck in the middle of traffic, Michel nervously checked his watch every 5 minutes. Sweat rolled down his forehead. His heart pounded in his chest. His breathing became quicker and sweaty palms covered the steering wheel. It's 3:30PM. It had taken him about an hour to drive to the first destination and now he had to drive to the final destination before 4:00PM. _I have to get there on time to save them. _He checked the time on the car. He needed to go to Saint-Denis and he wasn't sure if he's going to make it. _There's not enough time. There's not enough time. _He repeated to himself.

Saint-Denis is a commune in the northern suburbs of Paris, France, about 20-minute drive from the center of Paris. It doesn't have a great reputation in terms of safety, as it has one of the highest crime rates in the country.

* * *

Lucy's Office

"Hello….yes…yes….got it…I understand…I will." As Lucy spoke on the phone, she wrote something down on a Post-It note.

"Who was it?" Asked Scud.

With a serious look, she turned to Scud. "That was Michel. He needed our help and we have to get there in 20 minutes…I'll get the GPS and car ready…you bring the guns."

They had been together in many dangerous situations. Scud recognized the look on her face and detected tone of her voice to realize that this is the time to do as asked and not the time to ask questions.

As she drove to the destination in her 575-hp BWM M5, it reminded her of how she felt back in the old days when she tried to avoid being captured after each heist; her heart pounding in her chest, the excitement, the thrill of it after getting away. But this was different. There was no one chasing after her this time. There was no excitement, no thrill, only the beating of her heart; twice as fast. A little girl is in danger. An innocent little girl whom she never met needed her help. There was only one thing in her mind; get there on time and save her…save them.

"Damn it, I can't believe there's no highway to there." Lucy cursed.

Scud pressed a button on the GPS. "There's no traffic jam, we should be able to get there on time."

"Let's hope so."

Scud knew there was something else that Lucy didn't have time to mention to him. Since he didn't want to distract her, he stayed silent.

She swerved to the right to bypass the car in front of her; then to the left. She did that several times. When there was no clear road ahead and she had to stop, she spoke, "Michel said they might be trapped in a car with a time bomb. If we don't get there by 4PM, the car will explode."

"Holy shit!" Scud exclaimed.

"He also said there might be a woman with the little girl."

"A woman?"

Lucy continued, knowing what his next question would be. "I didn't ask. There's no time." Scud understood.

After 5 minutes, they were in the city of Saint-Denis. There were people, mostly males, hanging around the streets; talking, smoking, drug dealing, and staring at them while driving by. It's like Harlem, NY.

"Holy shit. We should have driven a less fancy car." Scud said.

As she turned into a dead end street, she saw an old black car surrounded by 3 guys. One of the doors was already opened. "We're here. Get your guns out. We're going to need it."

There was only one car at the end of the narrow street; surrounded by old buildings with graffities on the wall, trash everywhere, and god-awful stench that smell like dead rats.

The guys slowly approached them. One was holding a bat, another holding a crowbar and the third was holding a knife.

"I don't think those are the kidnappers." Lucy said.

Lucy was about to open the car door. "Wait, what are you going to do?" Scud asked.

"Well, first I'm going to ask them nicely to step away from the car and if they don't, I'll just use this." Lucy held her gun next to her face. Scud rolled his eyes.

"We don't need to do that. Watch this." As he reached into the glove compartment and pressed a button, the sound of a police car siren can be heard, flashing red and blue lights came on from the front headlights, and a loud French voice recording came out. The guys looked around and quickly ran into an alley between the buildings.

"See…." Scud smiled at her. _When did he alter my car?_ She made a mental note to ask him about that later.

Lucy quickly drove behind the parked car and got out. And there they were. Inside the back seat of the car were an adult and a child; both had a black cloth covering the entire head with big hole in the middle exposing the mouth and nose. Both were unconscious and their hands and legs were not bound.

They did a quick scan of the inside and underneath the car but didn't find anything that look like a bomb.

"Hurry, we only have 6 minutes left." Lucy said. Without removing their head covers, they carried the victims to the backseat of the bmw and quickly backed out of the dead end street. She stopped at the end of the street and waited.

"Five…four…three…two…one…" Scud counted.

Silence.

Bang!

"What the hell was that?" Both shouted out. That wasn't an explosion. They turned their heads to the back to where the noise came from.

"Oh shit!" Scud called out. "Let's move…move." They saw about ten guys coming at them, some holding bats and some throwing rocks. Another group of men came out of the alley at the other end of the street, yelling and running towards them. She quickly stepped on the gas pedal, avoided a hit to her car from the rear, and made a quick left turn causing her tires to screech.

When they could no longer see the guys behind them after driving a few blocks, Lucy spoke. "You and your bright ideas."

"What?" Scud shrugged his shoulders.

"We're in Saint-Denis. It's a "no-go" zone. They're not afraid of police." Lucy reminded him.

Seine-Saint-Denis is divided into 40 administrative districts called communes. It has one of the highest rates of violent crime in France and also has one of the highest unemployment rates. Because of the widespread drug dealing, a rampant black market, and riots, 36 of the districts are on the French government's official list of "no-go" zones.

"Feels like old times, doesn't it?" Scud asked as his heart starts to beat normally.

"Sure does…" Lucy said as a few past memories of being chased by cops and her enemies crossed her mind.

* * *

On the rooftop of an apartment building, a woman dressed in black, holding a semi automatic rifle, spoke on her cell phone. "They have them...I'll see you there."

* * *

As they drove back to Paris, Lucy instructed Scud to call the Doc to go to their place since it was closer and let Michel know. About 15 minutes later, they arrived to their apartment in Paris. Lucy took the cover off the little girl and carried her upstairs to the guestroom. After she placed the girl on the bed, she checked her heart rate and listened to her breathing. There were no bruises and she had not been harmed. Her breathing was calm and heart rate normal. She realized that the kidnappers just wanted money and had no intention of hurting them.

_What's taking him so long? _

Realizing that she had forgotten her gun, she quickly went underground to where her car was parked. There she saw Scud standing still next to the left side of the back seat, with the door opened; his back facing her.

"Scud.." Lucy said quietly.

He slowly turned towards her as if some magical force prevented him from moving fast. Tears rolled down his cheek and a small smile slowly appeared. He stepped aside and motioned her to look inside. She took 2 steps closer.

She paused.

"Oh my god…...Amy…"


	6. Chapter 6

**Chapter 6**

'Where…am I?' Surrounded by complete darkness, she had no idea where she was or what she was stepping on. All she could do was to keep walking, hoping to find an opening. 'What is that?' Far away, a small glowing object caught her eye. Faster and faster, she ran towards the object. Faster and faster, her heartbeat pounded. Then she stopped. She could see it now, right in front of her. Breathing heavily, she slowly bent down to pick it up and was completely mesmerized by its brightness and the flashing and fiery effect. In between her right thumb and finger was a pyramid-shaped diamond with something glowing inside. As she moved the object closer to her eyes to get a better look, the brightness became stronger and stronger; so strong it blinded her for a moment. She blinked a few times, her eyes adjusting to the light. When she managed to keep her eyes open, in front of her, she saw a beautiful face, with big brown eyes and dark brown hair, surrounded by white glowing aura, smiling at her with pearl white teeth. Everywhere else was filled with whiteness and shining stars. 'WOwww…" She lets out a deep breath. "She's…beautiful.….but why is she crying?' The gorgeous woman said something but she couldn't hear a single word. 'I can't hear you.' The stranger continued to say something but there was complete silence. 'Oh god…Am I dead?….Am I in heaven?' No sound, except her own. She looked around. 'Ashley.…Where's Ashley?' She asked, hoping the woman would answer her. When she did not get a response, she tried to move but found that she was unable to do so. She felt someone was holding her left hand and not letting it go. Two pairs of hands held her right arm down. She could not move. 'Let me go…let me go…I have to find Ashley.' In a state of fear and confusion, her breathing became quicker. She closed her eyes for a quick moment, took a deep breath and screamed as loud as she could, using all of her energy to free her appendages….Aaaaahhhhh!

* * *

"Jesus!" Lucy cried out after she was punched and tackled by the blonde who had been unconscious and placed on the bed in the guestroom next to the little girl.

"Oh my god!" Scud and another woman cried out at the same time.

"mama..mama.." Ashley called out as she ran to the other side of the queen bed.

On the floor, the blonde had her right knee on top of Lucy's chest, her left hand pressing her right wrist down against the floor, and her right hand squeezing the brunette's throat. Ashley jumped onto the blonde and hugged her tight; causing her to release the grip she had on the woman's throat under her.

After a moment, the blonde finally realized that she had woken up from a dream. Extremely happy to see Ashley, she embraced her with both arms. When she saw the two strangers in front of her, she realized that she still had her knee over the beautiful brunette, the one she saw before she woke up, who was gasping for breath underneath her. Lifting Ashley with her, she quickly got up and sat on the edge of the bed. While she scanned the little girl's body and face for any visible bruises, Lucy, who was breathing hard, got up with Scud's help.

"Are you ok?" The worried blonde asked Ashley.

Ashley nodded. "Did you have a nightmare? You scared me. You were screaming."

"Ohhh….I was?…ohhh." She said, embarrassed.

The little girl nodded again. "Uh huh…and you hit her". Ashley said while pointing to the brunette who was now sitting on a chair with her back a little slouched, her eyes locked on the blonde.

With Ashley on her lap, the confused blonde looked at the three strangers in front of her.

"Who are you?" The blonde asked. Lucy and Scud both had a questioning look, turned towards each other before returning their eyes on the blonde.

Ashley, who had woken up before the blonde, surprised all of them by speaking first.

"These are Daddy's friends. Daddy said he's going to pick us up later." Ashley explained.

When the little girl woke up, Lucy had convinced her that they were friends of her father by calling Michel. Seeing Ashley's merry behavior, the former criminals knew that the little girl had no idea about what really happened that day and the day before. They felt that the blonde was extremely clever to hide the truth from her.

Lucy and Scud found out from Ashley that the blonde was her baby-sitter and her name is Kristin Lang. They were shocked to hear that her name wasn't Grace Knightley, Amy's new identity after she left USA. There were so many things that they didn't understand. Why she looked so much like Amy? But there was no beauty mark on her right side of the face and she was so much more toned than Amy.

Lucy regretted selling her house in Barcelona. If she hadn't, finding Amy's hair in the house would be possible, thus DNA testing would be possible. At first, they had hoped that all these questions could be answered when the blonde wakes up. But now it seem that it's going to take awhile for them to find out…...somehow.

Lucy offered the blonde her cell phone to call Michel to confirm. After a short conversation with Michel, the blonde understood. She felt relieved and calm; her heart rate began to slow down.

"Hey kiddo, do you want to play some video games?" Scud asked.

"Can I?" She asked the blonde who nodded with a smile. "Yay!" Ashley leaped from the blonde after giving her a kiss on the cheek.

After Ashley went outside to the living room, the woman asked. "I'm Dr. Edith Blanchard, Keira's doctor. How are you feeling?"

The blond hesitated for a moment. "I'm feeling a little sleepy but other than that, I feel fine." She said while noticing that the brunette, sitting in front of her, had been staring at her the whole time.

"I checked your eyes earlier when you were unconscious. Do you mind if I checked them again?" The blonde agreed. She shone a light on both eyes to make sure they're dilating. "Everything looks ok. But I suggest you get a complete checkup including blood tests from your doctor as soon as you can. Same for Ashley." Dr. Blanchard was not aware of the events that had taken place an hour ago. Scud just told her to go to Keira's house immediately with her emergency bag. Seeing that Lucy was completely mesmerized by the blonde, she nodded to Scud, with an understanding that she cannot do anything more for them, and left the apartment.

"Do you remember what happened?" Scud asked.

"I…we were walking on Rue de Bucci that day and Ashley followed a kitten into an alley, so I followed her and the next thing I know…we were in a house surrounded by trees."

"You were on Rue de Bucci?" Lucy asked.

Surprised that the brunette had spoken, she whispered. "Yes."

"What time?"

"Around noon…"

_So it was her that I saw that day_. _What about the other times? Was that her too? _Lucy thought to herself.

Seeing that Lucy was lost in her own thoughts again, Scud continued with the questions. "Did you see them? Did you talk to them?"

"No…there was a note …They had surveillance cameras in all of the rooms. I don't think they wanted to hurt us. I think they just wanted money." Scud nodded. Lucy, still staring at the blonde, did not say anything.

"How did you find us?"

"We just found out an hour ago. Michel asked us for help...for money this morning but he didn't tell us why. Just an hour ago, he called Keira to save you because he didn't think he was able to get to you on time. He told us to find you guys...in a car with a time bomb.

"Oh my God!" The blonde covered her mouth with her hand.

Scud immediately waved his hand. "no…it was a hoax. We got to Saint-Denis on time. It didn't explode….so you might be right, they just wanted the money." He didn't think the other part was relevant, so he didn't tell her about the chase in Saint-Denis.

The blonde nodded.

"That was very smart of you for not letting her know." Scud pointed in the direction of the living room.

Slowly, she turned her eyes to the floor. "That was all I could do." She whispered, feeling useless.

"You did the right thing." Lucy said immediately to comfort her, knowing that the blonde had felt guilty for not being able to protect the girl from being kidnapped. "She's safe now...You're safe now."

Kristin brought her head back up and smiled at her and nodded as a gesture to thank her for her comforting words and understanding. They stared wordlessly at each other and stayed in that position for a while.

"I'll…uhhh…just go keep the kid company…" He said while making the hitchhiking sign with his thumb towards the living room. When he noticed that no one was listening to him and was completely ignored, he rolled his eyes and just walked out of the guest room and closed it behind him.

Lucy looked deeply into the blonde's green eyes and the blonde noticed tears brimming the eyes of the beautiful woman in front of her. After a moment of silence, she whispered. "I'm sorry."

Lucy replied in a slow soft voice. "For..what?" _What is she sorry for? What is she hiding from me? _

"For hitting you."

"Oh…" Lucy whispered as a tear rolled down her left cheek.

There were so many questions she wanted to ask, but she could not bring herself to do so. She doesn't want to think about it at this moment. She was still shocked to see the woman in front of her who looked so much like Amy. For so long, she dreamed of seeing her again. She missed her so much. Her heart ached every time she thought of her. And now, she's right in front of her. All she wanted to do is hold her and never let her go.

The blonde could not resist and slowly extended her right hand to wipe away the tear. "Does it still hurt?" As she was about to pull her hand away, Lucy stopped her and held it on her face. She slowly moved the other hand to her own heart while caressing the back of the blonde's hand. "Not…anymore."

At the gentle contact, the blonde's heartbeat began to race and she felt her own cheeks getting warm. _"Why is my heart beating so fast? What did they put in the food? _She could see that there was a lot of pain in those brown teary eyes of the beautiful brunette. From what, she doesn't know.

"Thank you."

"For what?" Her mind was totally focused on the person in front of her and had forgotten everything that had happened an hour ago.

"For saving us."

The brunette, still staring and still holding the blonde's hand against her face, did not respond. Tears began to roll down on her other cheek. Spontaneously, the blonde extended her other hand towards the brunette's unoccupied side of the face. But before she could reach her face, they were interrupted by Michel who barged into the guestroom; followed by Scud and Ashley. The startled blond quickly pulled both her hands away as if she was caught cheating with another man, in this case, woman. The loss of contact broke the brunette's gaze and she quickly turned her back towards everyone to brush away her tears, hoping no one else noticed her soft side.

"Kristin…are you ok?" An exhausted Michel ran towards her and wrapped his hands around her while Lucy, who's a little upset over the interruption, just stared at the blonde.

"I'm fine." Michel put his hands on her shoulders, stepped back and looked at her from top to bottom to make sure she was indeed unharmed. Again, he hugged her tightly and did not let go until Lucy, who was a little jealous of the scene in front of her, cleared her throat loudly.

Taking the hint, he released the hold. "Keira, this is Kristin Lang, my daughter's baby-sitter." Happy to hear that he did not introduce her as his girlfriend, Lucy grinned and extended her hand out.

"Kristin, this is Keira Holmes. She's a business associate of mine and a friend." As she took the offered hand, her eyes locked onto Keira's and both did not let go until Scud who noticed that the handshake was a bit too long, interrupted them and introduced himself.

"I'm Scott. Nice to meet you." He shook the blonde's hands.

"Dad, can we go now? I want to go home to open my gifts." Ashley tugged on her Dad's pants.

"Ok, honey…we can go now." He turned towards Lucy and Scud and thanked them once again.

As Michel approached the bedroom door while holding Ashley's right hand, he felt light headed and almost fell before Kristin caught his right arm.

"Michel, let me drive you back home." Scud offered, seeing how exhausted he looked.

"Scott, why don't you drive Michel and Ashley home and I'll drive Kristin home." Lucy suggested, wanting to spend more time with the blonde. This way, she will also find out where she lives. Her henchman looked at her, knowing exactly what she had in mind.

"Kristin…You shouldn't stay home alone tonight. Why don't you stay in our house for a few days?" Michel suggested, with a concern voice. He doesn't want to say too much in front of Ashley after Scud had told him beforehand that his daughter had no clue about what happened.

Not liking on how this is turning out, Lucy was about to suggest that they stay for dinner. It was a stupid idea but she was willing to try anything to see the blonde a little longer.

"Daddy, daddy, can mama sleep with me tonight? Can she…Can she…please…I want her to open the gifts with me." Ashley asked while jumping up and down. Michel turned towards Kristin.

Slowly, she bent down and said in her sweet voice. "Ashley, if you want me to sleep-over, then can you stop calling me mama?' The little girl pondered for a moment; smiling and tapping her finger on her mouth. "mmm…ok."

"Good…now go put your shoes on."

She waited for Ashley to leave the guestroom. "We have to go to the hospital first to take some blood tests. I'm afraid they might have put something more other than sedatives in the food we ate this morning."

"Right, I already called my doctor and he's at the house now."

"I'll go get some things from my apartment and I'll meet you there." Kristin said and Michel nodded.

"Keira, if you don't mind." Michel asked.

"Not at all." She smiled at the blonde.

* * *

It's about 5PM in Paris. The sky was beginning to darken. Gray clouds moving fast, wind blowing fairly strong. Kristin sat on the passenger side, looking out the side window of the BMW. Each time Lucy stopped at a red light, she took a few glances at her passenger. What she didn't know was that Kristin had also stole a few glances at her when she wasn't looking.

"Looks like it's going to rain." Kristin spoke softly, not expecting a response. Lucy did not say anything.

It was rush hour. People were getting off work. This time, Lucy was happy to see that traffic was at its worse.

"Oh..look..." Kristin pointed to the sky and both set of eyes followed the flock of birds flying a v-formation across their window, from the left side to the right. Unbeknownst to Lucy, the blonde was looking at her while she was looking at the birds fly by. That view had brought the former mastermind a lot of memories. When she turned to see what kind of reaction it had on the blonde, she found none. The blonde had already turned, looking outside the side window once again.

Since traffic was moving at a turtle's pace, she felt this is the right time to ask her first question, something she was curious about. She didn't want to ask her where she's from, what she's doing here, how long she's been here, or if she had any siblings. Now that they have her name, Scud can find out all about that. Last thing she wanted to do is ask her more about the kidnapping; which will certainly make her feel uncomfortable. She thought it would be best to leave that alone for now. What she wanted to know is her personality: her likes and dislikes, her behavior. She'll need to get close to her, become her friend, get her trust and eventually, she'll find out who she is.

"So…why does Ashley call you mama?"

"Oh…" Kristin straightened her back and turned towards her. "She was just being silly… Everywhere I go with her, people thought that I was her mother. The first few times, I told them that I wasn't, then after that, I just got tired of explaining…and she got tired of explaining…so we just don't bother to anymore….she just kept calling me after that…that silly girl…"

"I see…well, that's not good…If anyone hears that, they'd think you're already married and unavailable." Lucy didn't see any ring on her finger and hoped that she didn't have a boyfriend.

"Oh… I don't care about that."

"Oh…so you currently have a boyfriend?"

"No…not really….maybe, I don't know…" Lucy looked at with a questioning look. "It's complicated."

"..okaaaay..." Lucy responded slowly. Kristin sighed and covered her face with hands. "Sorry…I didn't mean to make you feel uncomfortable." Lucy apologized.

"What?…no…it's not you...it's just that I don't know what I want. I mean, he seems like a nice guy, but I don't know if I want to…"

"Him?"

"Michel.."

_What!...Damn it. I knew there was something going on with him… That explained why he seemed so happy before the incident…..that...that cradle robber._ Lucy thought to herself.

Kristin noticed the sudden change in the brunette: her tight grip on the steering wheel as if she wanted to strangle someone, her strong defined jaw line appearing due to teeth grinding, her chest heaving, and the way she blew her bangs up as if she was upset about something. "aahhh…Is anything wrong?"

"huh?…aahh…no, just never like to be stuck in traffic.." She lied and tried to calm herself down.

"So how long have you known Michel?" Lucy asked.

"About a year. You?"

"Just several months…" _Shoot…they've known each other for a year already…that's more than me and Amy._ She wondered what stage they're in. "How long have you guys been dating? "

"Dating?..oh no, we're not dating…" She quickly explained. "I mean we went out several times but it's always with Ashley."

"So you guys never went out alone?

"No."

"Then how do you know if he's interested in you?"

The blonde hesitated. She had no idea why she's telling the brunette all of these things, but she did feel comfortable around her. "Well…there were hints and he made some moves here and there."

"Moves…?" She looked at the blonde for a quick moment and looked back on the road.

"Oh no, it's not what you're thinking." The blonde quickly replied making sure she didn't misunderstand.

"He just tried to hold my hands."

"Oh…then he's definitely interested…Did you let him? If you did, then he'll think he have a chance." _Please say no….please say no._

"No…" Lucy was relieved and let out a deep breath and wasn't sure if Kristin noticed that. "…not the first few times…." Lucy wasn't happy with that response. "...but after that, when we went to the zoo with Ashley...we were all having fun. I didn't even noticed it when he was holding my hands."

"So how do you feel about him?"

The blonde flipped her head backwards, sighed and closed her eyes for a moment before speaking. "I don't know. I mean he's a nice guy. I do like him. But I feel there's something missing and…."

"You're not in love with him." Lucy said as she stopped the car at a red light and turned her eyes towards the blonde.

The blonde let out another sigh. "No….I just think when you're in love, that person should constantly appear in your mind. Love should be..." She paused and tried to think of the right words.

"irresistible….." Lucy whispered. "like a drug"

"Yeaaaah….." The blonde said softly and slowly, smiled and looked into those mesmerizing dark brown eyes.

"…and when it happens, you should not be able to help yourself." Lucy continued.

"Yeaaah…" _Who is she? _ _She took the words right out of my mouth. _The honking of the car behind them startled them and Lucy returned to her driving.

* * *

Trying to change the subject, Kristin asked. "Are you and Scott a couple?"

"What!..no..no..Scott is my best friend and my business partner."

"Oh…I thought you two were…"

"He lives next door….so a lot of times we eat dinner together and keep each other company…"

"So you guys never dated?"

"NO...…he's not my type."

"Oh…" She paused. "Is Michel your type?" Lucy laughed. She shook her head.

Kristin became more confused, not knowing what she said that was so funny.

"That's not what I meant. I meant...I have no interest in men."

"Oh…" Kristin felt a little embarrassed, her cheeks turned red and she looked towards the floor. _I should just stop asking her personal questions._

* * *

After a moment of silence, Kristin asked. "Do you mind if I put on some music?"

"Of course not."

Both reached for the radio button at the same time, Lucy's finger on top of Kristin's. At the contact, Kristin quickly retracted her hand as if she'd had been burned. Well, in this case, shocked, from static electricity.

"Sorry." Both apologized at the same time. Kristin's face turned red again; which was be very noticeable on her white skin.

"American or French?" Lucy asked.

"American."

Lucy pressed a few buttons and the first song from her cd started to play. It was "Whereever you will go" by The Calling. This was one of Amy's favorite songs. She looked at Kristin to see if there was any reaction hearing this song; there was none.

After 5 minutes, they arrived to their destination. The sky had turned gray, rain was pouring down and flashes of lightning illuminated the sky.

"Park here…you won't be able to find any spaces up there at this hour." Kristin pointed to the empty space.

As Kristin was about to open the door, Lucy stopped her. "Wait here." She lifted a lever next to her seat and stepped out of the car. After taking an umbrella from the trunk, she walked over to the passenger side and opened the door for the blonde.

"C'mon, it's getting dark. Let me walk you to your apartment." Lucy extended her hand out, a little wet from the rain.

"You shouldn't leave your car here. It's not safe. Wait here for me."

"I'll take my chances. C'mon." Lucy said loudly, making sure the blonde could hear her as the rain poured heavily. Unbeknownst to Kristin, her car cannot be easily stolen or damaged like other cars. Scud had altered it so that the windows are bulletproof and the body contains a special coating that's stronger than steel. If anyone even tried to put something in the keyhole, they're going to get a little surprise.

Kristin took the offered hand and got out of the car. Lucy held the open umbrella with her right hand and the blonde stayed close to her grabbing onto the brunette's right arm.

"Ready?" Kristin nodded and both walked as fast as they could to the main door.

After they got inside the entrance of the building, both were breathing heavily. Kristin noticed the left side of the brunette's body was completely drenched and the only part of herself that was wet was her shoes. She had wanted Lucy to stay there while she get her stuff. But seeing the soaked woman in front of her, she changed her mind and led her inside her apartment on the 3rd floor.

The apartment is about 600 sqft with 1 bedroom, bathroom, small kitchen, and living room. Even though it was small, she kept it nice and neat with only the essentials. "Let me get you a towel." Kristin quickly went into the bedroom. Lucy stood where she was and scanned the living room for any pictures. Surprisingly, she didn't find any. Hung on the wall were drawings and paintings of landscapes.

Kristin came back with the towel and helped Lucy wipe away the water from her back and her sides. Once again, memories of Amy flooded her mind. She stood there motionless, hands hanging by her side, staring at the person in front of her. As the blonde was about to dry her hair and face, she noticed the brunette gazing at her at the corner of her eye. She stopped when her green eyes locked onto the dark brown eyes. The blonde's heart once again pounded faster and faster; a 'fluttery' feeling in her stomach started to form; her cheeks started to get warmer. She was unable to stop herself from looking at the beautiful brunette in front of her. They stared silently at each other….until…

BOOOOOOM!…..The lights went out and the loud noise of thunder frightened them both. Kristin jumped and wrapped her arms around the brunette's shoulders as soon as she heard the unexpected powerful sound. Lucy wrapped her arms around the blonde's waist tightly to hold onto her. Their cheeks touched. With their bodies so close together, Lucy could feel the blonde's rapid heart beat. Not wanting to let go, Lucy closed her eyes and tightened the hold. _Amy …I missed you so much. _She said in her mind. The blonde, in turn, tightened the embrace. Both experienced a moment when time stalled completely.

When the lights came on, Kristin slowly pulled away and Lucy reluctantly did the same.

"You ok?" Lucy whispered.

"Yea…it just scared me there for a minute." She said shyly and handed her the towel. "I'll…go.. get my things." As quickly as she could, she walked back into the bedroom door and closed it behind her. She leaned against the door and placed her hand to her heart. She had never felt this way before. _What is wrong with me? I need to go see a doctor. Doctor…right…have to go to Michel's house. _

Meanwhile, in the living room, Lucy decided to look around for anything that could tell her more about the blonde. She went into the kitchen and opened the refrigerator and cabinets. There wasn't much there. _Looks like she lives alone. _

"Kristin, do you mind if I use the bathroom?"

A head peaked out of the bedroom door. "No, go ahead. Do you need any more towels?"

"aaah no, I'm fine. Thanks."

Kristin smiled before closing the bedroom door.

After Lucy locked the bathroom door, she searched the medicine cabinet, hoping to find some prescribed medicine bottles, but there were none. There was nothing unusual except how organized and clean the bathroom looked. It was so clean; it looked like it's rarely used. _How long has she been living here?_

As she walked past the bedroom door, she thought she heard something. Sounded like Kristin was talking on the phone, but couldn't hear what she was saying. Even if she put her ears against the door, she wouldn't be able to make it out, so she decided to walk back to the door and wait for her.

After 15 minutes, they were all set to go. As they were about to leave the building, Kristin stopped. "Wait, I'll go get another umbrella."

Lucy grabbed her arm, preventing her from moving. "Kristin, an extra umbrella won't help us in this situation." She pointed to the glass main door. The weather was even worse than before. Inches of rain had flooded the streets.

"Right." Kristin sighed. Lucy held out her arm for her to grab onto and they walked quickly back to the car.

* * *

There were only a few cars on the streets. In front of them, they could see flashes of lightning and the rain was pouring so heavily the windshield wipers could not wipe the water away fast enough. They could feel the car being moved sideways from the strong wind blowing and could hear the rumbles of thunder inside the car. Lucy put on some soft American music and the song 'Say Something' by A Great Big World & Christina Aguilera was playing.

"Are you tired?" Lucy noticed that Kristin had just yawned.

"A little."

"You can take a nap…I'll be your chauffer today. It's going to take awhile to get there."

Kristin nodded and within minutes, she dozed off and Lucy turned off the music.

Half hour later

"Yes…we're alright…we'll be there in 10 minutes…." Lucy turned off her phone.

"Who was that?" The noise had woken up Kristin.

"Sorry…" Lucy apologized as the blonde stretched out her arms.

"That was Scott. He just wants to make sure we're ok. We should be there in about 10 minutes." Lucy turned on the music.

"Oh…how long was… I…out?" She said slowly while yawning.

"…half an hour…"

"wow…that long..."

"Yea…you were talking in your sleep..."

"What?" Kristin immediately sat straight up, her eyes wide open. "..w-what did I say?"

Lucy was surprised at the blonde's reactions. _Looks like she's hiding something._ "Don't worry, your secret is safe with me." She winked at her with a lopsided smile.

"What?…no, tell me….what did I say?"

Lucy shook her head, smiling.

".tell me..." Lucy ignored her completely.

"Ok, fine…don't tell me…I was probably mumbling something stupid anyway." Kristin crossed her arms, lay back on her seat, and pretended that she didn't care. _Damn it. Does she know? Aahh..I can't believe I fell asleep next to a stranger. _

After 10 minutes of silence, they arrived in front of Michel's house. It was still raining outside but not as heavily as before. The storm hasn't got there yet.

"We're here." Lucy said and looked at the blonde. Kristin didn't say anything and ignored her. _She looked kind of upset._ As she was about to get out of the car, Lucy stopped her. "Okay...okay, I'll tell you." Kristin immediately closed the door and looked at the brunette, eager to hear what she has to say.

"on one condition"

"What?…_I can't believe it...she seemed so nice and so understand, how could she …_

"Go out with me tomorrow."

Not believing what she just heard. No longer upset, her tone changed and she said shyly and softly. "What?"

"You…want me...to go out with you?…you mean...like a date?"

"Well, yeah…if you want to call it that…look, I haven't been to the movies for a very, very long time, so long I don't even know how much a movie ticket cost these days…...so how about it?"

Her cheeks blushed and her heartbeat raced. Thank goodness for the darkness inside the car, the brunette did not notice.

Lucy did not wait for the response and got out of the car. She slowly walked over to the passenger side, hoping that it would give her enough time to think about it. Inside the car, her green eyes followed the brunette as she walked slowly over to the other side of the car. She swallowed a lump that was rising in her throat.

With one hand holding the opened umbrella, Lucy opened the door for the blonde and extended her other hand. Kristin laid her trembling hand onto hers, stepped out of the car and kept her eyes to the ground. They walked up the stairs to the main door of Michel's house and the light near the door automatically came on.

"Kristin…" Lucy said softly.

Finding the courage, Kristin slowly turned to look at the drenched brunette.

"If you don't think Michel is right for you, then you should let him know how you feel." Lucy looked deeply into her eyes, hoping that the blonde would understand what she was referring to.

After a moment, the blonde smiled and with that she understood the secret that the brunette was keeping.


	7. Chapter 7

**Chapter 7**

As they walked inside Michel's home, Lucy and Kristin were welcomed by Scud, Jehan and Michel's butler, who quickly went to the bathroom to get them towels. Jehan shook Lucy's hands and thanked her.

"Kristin, I'm glad you're ok." Jehan said while giving her a hug.

"Wow, you're all wet…it's pretty bad out there, huh?" Scud asked his friend.

"Yea, it's going to get worse here soon." Lucy looked around. "Where's Michel?"

"In Ashley's bedroom with the doctor. Looks like he's having a hard time convincing her to get a blood test." Scud said. The butler came back with the towels and handed them to the soaked guests.

As soon as she heard, Kristin ran upstairs to Ashley's bedroom. Since they were in Michel's home, Lucy did not feel comfortable talking about her findings about the woman who looked like Amy. Scud also felt that this wasn't the time or place to talk about it, so they both followed the blonde up the stairs.

Inside Ashley's bedroom, Michel sat on a chair next to Ashley on the bed, while the doctor stood behind Michel.

"Ashley!" Kristin called out as she ran over to the bed and gave her a big hug. Both were extremely happy to see other.

"eeuwh!..you're cold and wet" Ashley said while hugging her favorite blonde.

"sorry…"

As Michel was about to explain the situation, Ashley interrupted him.

"Daddy said I needed to get a blood test. He wanted to put a needle in my arm." She pointed to the doctor.

"I know, honey…it's going to be ok. This nice doctor just wants to make sure you're ok."

"I don't want to. It's going to hurt." Ashley said, making a sad face that looked like she about to cry.

"It's just going to hurt a little. If it makes you feel any better, he's going to put a needle in my arm too."

"You too?"

"Uh huh and if I can do it, I'm sure you can do it too because you know why?" Kristin placed her hands over her head while smoothing her hair repeatedly.

"No..."

"Because you're so much stronger than I am and so much more courageous, just like that girl who rescued the helpless blonde girl in the village…remember the story I told you about…"

She pondered for a moment. "Yes…but I'm still scared."

"I'll be right here with you and you can hold on to my hand. And if it hurts, you can squeeze it as hard as you want. After that, we can open the presents together." She pointed to all of those presents lying on the floor. Ashley thought about it but still shook her head.

Scud and Lucy were standing at the door while listening to the blonde. She thought it was extremely adorable how Kristin tried to persuade the little girl. _The girl who rescued the helpless blonde girl in the village, huh. _She made a mental note to ask her about that later. Both Scud and Lucy walked closer to the bed.

"Hey kiddo, if you do that now, we can play some video games later, ok?" Scud said. Ashley shook her head and the extremely exhausted Michel sighed while rubbing his temples.

"May I." Lucy walked over and said softly to Kristin who nodded and moved away from the bed to allow her to get closer to Ashley.

"Hey…. " Lucy said with her dazzling smile. "If you do that…" She bent over and whispered to Ashley's ear. When she finished, she pulled back and after a short moment, Ashley nodded. Everyone's jaws dropped and focused on the brunette. No one could hear what she said to the little girl. Lucy nodded to the doctor to let him know to get the tubes and syringe. She held the little girl's hand while the doctor took 2 tubes of blood.

"You..did great!" Lucy gave her a high five and Ashley smiled back. "I'm all wet. I'm going to go dry myself up. OK."

"OK."

Staring at the brunette with her mouth slightly opened, Kristin was still in awe. Lucy moved towards the blonde and winked at her with a lopsided smile. Her eyes followed the brunette as she walked past her towards the door.

"Kristin." The doctor called but the blonde did not hear her. "Kristin" The doctor repeated.

"huh." Her thoughts were interrupted and she managed to turn her eyes away from the brunette.

"It's your turn." The blonde nodded and walked to a table.

As Lucy was about to walk out, Alexis walked in.

"Keira!" Alexis was so happy to see her, she jumped and wrapped her hands around her.

Startled by Alexis' loud voice, Kristin flinched as the doctor was about to put the needle in her arm.

"Ouch!" Kristin cried out, causing Ashley to chuckle.

"Are you ok? I heard what you did. Thank you…thank you…" Alexis tightened the embrace. All eyes focused on them, especially Kristin's, except for Ashley who had begun unwrapping her gifts.

"Kristin…you need to relax." The doctor ordered.

"Oh…sorry.." She did not realize that she had tightened her hands into a fist.

"Aaah…you're welcome…I'm glad I could help." Lucy tried to pull away but could not. "Alexis, I'm all wet…"

"I don't care." Alexis ignored everyone in the room until Michel cleared his throat and called her.

"Alexis….can you see if dinner's ready?"

"Oh, it's almost ready." Finally releasing the hold on Lucy, she saw Kristin staring at them. She walked over and gave her a quick hug.

"I'm glad you're ok." She smiled and the blonde smiled back. Alexis had only met Kristin a few times. Being away in college, the only time she came home was on holidays or school vacation. She was extremely happy to see how well she and Ashley bonded and was grateful to have found someone who cared so much about her sister.

A sudden burst of sneezes caused everyone in the room to look at Lucy.

"Oh my god…we need to get you out of those clothes." Alexis quickly went back to the brunette.

"huh…no….that's ok…" She said while waiving both of her hands and moving a few steps back to avoid being touched.

"Dad, you guys eat dinner first and I'll show Keira where the bathroom is, ok?" Not waiting for any responses, she grabbed Keira's hand and dragged her out of the door while Kristin just watched the reactions between the two. _What was that about? _Kristin thought to herself._  
_

"I'll get these to the lab and I'll let you know as soon as I can." Michel nodded and the doctor started to pack up.

"Michel, I'll go take a shower first." Kristin said.

"Ok…..c'mon, Ashley, let's go eat." Michel, Ashley and Scud left the bedroom.

As the doctor was about to leave, Kristin stopped him. "Doctor, do you have a minute? I have a question."

"Yes, what is it? Are you feeling alright? "

"Well, I'm not sure. Today, my heart…. is feeling a little….abnormal. Sometimes it's beating extremely fast and then after a minute it's back to normal."

He took out his stethoscope and listened to her heart and breathing. "Sounds like everything's normal. How many times did this happen and when?"

"About 4 times today and then my neck, face and scalp …feel like it's burning…then there's one time I had this weird feeling in my stomach but it lasted only for a short while. I think they put something in the food we ate."

"I see...is this weird feeling painful?"

"No...it's sort of like the feeling you get when riding a roller coaster, going up and down."

"What were you doing when this happened? Were you running, were you sitting down?"

She thought about the question for a moment. "I was sitting down…talking to Keira, that brunette that was here before,…. all four times when it happened, she was there."

"…and the time you felt something in your stomach, what were you doing then?" The doctor asked.

"I was…" She paused. "I was…" _Should I tell him? _"I …don't remember."

"..and your breathing, was it normal when this happened?

"uummm…it was fast and short…but it goes back to normal after awhile."

"How do you feel now?"

"I feel fine."

"I see…well...I don't think it's anything you need to worry about. But I would do some more tests on the blood to make sure." The doctor smiled at her.

"What do you think it is, Doc?" The blonde asked with a worried look.

The doctor zipped up his bag. "hmm….All I can say is that the next time this happens again, ask yourself what you want to do at that moment and just do it, don't think, just do it….and see if you feel any better."

"What?" Kristin asked. _What the hell is he talking about?_

"Ok, I got to go now before the storm gets here." The doctor grabbed his bag and left the bedroom, leaving the blonde even more confused and worried.

* * *

Inside Alexis' bedroom

Lucy was taking a shower in the bathroom and Alexis had placed her clothing in the washer/dryer.

Twenty minutes later, Lucy, wearing a white robe, stepped out of the bathroom door and found Alexis waiting for her sitting on the bed. The house was so big, most of the bedrooms had a bathroom in it except for the guest rooms.

"Oh…hi….um…do you have a hair dryer I could use?" She said while drying her hair with a towel.

_Wow, she looks gorgeous even without makeup._ Alexis shook herself out of her thoughts. "umm…yea…" She went over to the cabinet to get the dryer. "Here, sit…let me help you."

"oh…that's ok…I can do it myself."

"Let me help you…this is the least I can do for you….for helping us…I insist.." Lucy gave up resisting and sat in front of the mirror dresser set. "and don't worry, I've done this before."

"You've done this before?"

"Yup, when I was in college, I did some part time here and there…I did waitressing, hair dresser assistant, masseuse, and…

"Why? Didn't your dad help pay for your college?" Shocked to hear that the child of a successful businessman had to do those jobs.

"Yes, he did. Why... Oh, I don't know. I guess I just want to experience what the world is like out there. I learned a lot from it." She squeezed some of the thermal protection heat serum on her palm and spread it evenly thru Lucy's hair. Then she clipped up the top layer of her hair on the right side and started pulling the bottom portions over a round brush while blowing some warm air against the strands.

"..and what did you learn?" Lucy was interested in what she has to say.

"…that life is tough out there…especially when you're all alone…that people sometimes end up doing things that they never thought that they would do…" Once she was done with the bottom layers, she worked on the top layer.

Hearing those words caused her mind to think about how she had fallen in love with a DEB, something she never thought would happen in her lifetime and how Amy had changed her whole life. She snapped back out of her thoughts when Alexis whispered into her ear. "..and people aren't always who they appear to be…"

Lucy said slowly. "What do you mean?" She tried not to show any emotion.

"Well, one time I was giving this guy a haircut. I was new at it but it wasn't my first time. He told me I did a good job and left me a big tip….you know when someone gives you a £100 tip for a haircut that costs £13, you just don't forget his face." She started blow-drying on the left side using the same method.

"…he must be rich." Lucy said.

"Yea, that's just it…the store I worked at usually serve customers around the neighborhood, people with low and median income… There wasn't anything unusual about him. Then the next day, I recognized his picture in the newspaper. That's when I found out that he was actually the head of some big criminal organization. He was killed that same day I gave him the haircut."

"Really…wow….guess you're right about that, people aren't who they seem…" She felt relieved that Alexis wasn't referring to her real identity. Even though she had quit her criminal life, the former criminals are cognizant of what's going on in the dark underground. They needed to make sure their enemies not just cops weren't close by. She wondered who the unlucky guy was.

"Like you.." Alexis said softly.

"Like me? What about me?" She straightened her back.

"When I saw you at the Cafe, I would never have guessed that you could be the owner of a company."

"oh...because I look too young?" She relaxed her shoulders.

"Yes..."

The mentioning of the Cafe reminded her of the first time she met Alexis. She remembered that day when Alexis handed her a napkin with her phone#. "There's something I wanted to ask you about." Lucy was curious about this for a long time.

"What is it?"

"How did you know that I'm…gay?"

Alexis let out a small laugh. "Remember that blind date you had, the one with the gorgeous woman."

"…how did you…..?

"She just happened to be a friend of the waitress who worked there, so she told me."

"Oh…I see...small world.." She smiled. _Too small…No more blind dates ever._

Alexis turned off the dryer. "Do you want your hair in a ponytail?"

"aah, yea, sure"

"Ok, all set." She took a hair band from her dresser and tied it on.

"Thank you. I feel much better now." Her hair looked and felt so silky smooth, she was very impressed with Alexis' work.

As Lucy was about to get up from the chair, Alexis placed her hands on her shoulders. "wow, your shoulders are really tense. Would you like me to give you a massage? I have experience in that too." As Lucy was about to reject the offer, Alexis took her hand and led her on to her bed. When she tried to get up, Alexis forcefully pushed her down and straddled her. Looking at the beautiful woman clothed in white robe, showing a little bit cleavage, underneath her, Alexis felt her heart beating faster and faster. All she wanted to do is kiss her at that moment. _What would she do if I kiss her now? Am I moving too fast?_ The brunette, however, felt a little embarrassed about the whole situation.

"Aaah…I don't think this is good idea." Lucy tried to get up, but was pushed back down again.

"Roll over."

"What?"

"Roll over." Alexis repeated and helped Lucy rolled over.

"Now...close your eyes….clear..your mind…. and relax." She said softly.

"Alexis, I…."

"Shhhhhhhh…." Her hands slowly and softly squeezed the brunette's shoulders to relax the muscle tissue, then pressed around the tight toned arms. She then moved her hands on the neck with each thumb on the side, massaging and rubbing away the muscle spasm and soreness. Spontaneously, the brunette's eye lids slid down and she let out a soft involuntary moan. Satisfied with the effect she gave the woman under her, she continued with the massage, from the left shoulder to the right, and back up the neck.

"that feels gooooood…"

"I'm glad you like it." Kristin whispered and moved her head closer to Lucy's ear. "...and don't worry, you don't look gay, you look HOT…" Unable to control herself, she gave the brunette a kiss on the cheek, a kiss that lasted a little too long to be considered just a friendly kiss. At the contact, Lucy's eyes opened wide and at the same time, someone knocked on the door.

"Come in." Spontaneously, Alexis responded without realizing the position they're in and Lucy rolled herself around, trying to get off the bed.

"Alexis, Keira's clothes have been dried." Kristin walked in and was shocked to see the scene in front of her. She didn't know what to make of it. _Oh my god! _Keira lying on the bed, her front facing Alexis, her robe slightly opened, showing some skin, with Alexis sitting on top of her. Lucy's eyes were wide open like a deer in the headlights.

Surprised at what she saw, Kristin dropped the clothing on the floor unintentionally as her heart rate suddenly beat faster and faster. She quickly lowered her eyes, bent down to pick up the clothing, and put it on the nearest table. "Sorry…" Partially covering her eyes with her hand, she walked out the door in lightning speed and closed it behind her.

"Kristin…wait.." Lucy said as the door closed behind the blonde. _Oh shit…this is not happening. _

Looking at Alexis…"Uumm…Alexis, we need to talk."

"Are you hungry? I'm hungry…I'll meet you downstairs." Ignoring Lucy, she quickly got off the bed and left the bedroom.

_Damn it…now she'll never go out with me. _Lucy thought to herself.

* * *

Downstairs, in the dining room, Alexis sat across from Kristin on the rectangular dining table. Lucy chose to sit on the end between the two women.

"Thank you." Lucy said to the butler as he set her plate down. All three women sat silently while eating their meal. _How am I going to explain this?_ She thought to herself as she looked at the two quiet women in front of her.

Alexis kept her head down and focused on her meal. She was too embarrassed to look at Lucy. In her mind, she chastised herself for moving too fast and not being able to control her emotions towards the brunette. Even though she's a person with a lot of confidence, she was afraid that her straightforward approach might have backfired in this case. _I shouldn't have done that. Maybe I can talk to her later. _She thought to herself.

"haa chuu!…Excuse me…"

"Bless you" Kristin and Alexis said simultaneously.

"Thank you." She looked at Kristin, then at Alexis.

"Do you need some medicine?" Alexis asked.

"No, I'm alright. It's just a little sneeze."

"Are you sure? You were completely drenched."

Kristin looked at the brunette, feeling a little sorry, knowing full well how she got the cold. Lucy sneezed again.

"I'll get the medicine." Alexis quickly left the dining room.

"I'll go get water." Kristin said. When Kristin was about to get up to go to the kitchen, Lucy grabbed her hand.

"Wait….let me explain." She looked up at the blonde.

"About what?"

"About what happened in the bedroom."

"You don't have to. "

"She was just givin…" Lucy tried to explain, but Kristin interrupted.

"What you do with…is none of my concern."

Taking Lucy's hand away from hers, she calmly said. "Really, you don't have to tell me."

With that, she went to the kitchen to get her water, leaving the frustrated brunette all alone in the dining room.

"Haa chuu…"

"Hey, are you alright?" Scud said as he walked into the dining room.

"Fine…just a little sneeze...let me finish eating and we can go."

"aah…that's what I came here to tell you….looks like the storm's getting worse and there's a hurricane warning. Michel told us to stay for tonight."

"Where is he?"

"Sleeping…he's knocked out, took some sleeping pills."

Both women came back with water and medicine and placed them on the table.

"Thank you." Lucy said.

"Your welcome." Both women responded at the same time.

"So are you staying here tonight? Alexis asked, hoping she would have a chance to talk to her in private.

"Yes" Scud said. "No" Lucy said. Lucy and Scud both responded at the same time.

"We're not?" Scud looked at her with a questioning look.

"We made it here, I'm sure we can make it back."

"But there's a hurricane warning." Alexis warned.

She looked at Kristin who didn't say anything, then at Alexis, then at Scud, then back at Kristin again. "A little hurricane won't kill us, we've been through worse, haven't we, Scott."

"That's true, we have..a lot worse..."

She lowered her eyes and went back to eating her dinner. In her heart, she had hoped Kristin would want her to stay. Then maybe she'll give her a chance to explain. But since the blonde didn't say anything, she thought it would be best to leave. Besides, she doesn't think it's a good idea to be sleeping in the same house as the recent college grad who had been extremely upfront about her intentions.

"Ok, just let me know when you're ready, I'm going to go watch tv." Scott said and left the dining room. He had no idea what the brunette was thinking at this moment since he was under the impression that she wanted to find out more about Kristin. Now that they have an excuse to stay, this would be the best opportunity for her to get to get close, to become friends with the blonde. He wondered if something had happened.

Kristin looked at the brunette and didn't say anything. Since she too was a guest in the house, she has no right to ask her to stay. She did feel bad about the brunette getting a cold because of her. What she didn't understand was why Keira was so insistent on leaving and risk the chance of getting stuck or even getting hurt while driving thru a storm.

"Keira, before I forget, I made dessert." Alexis said.

"You know how to make desserts too?"

"ah huh…I knew you were coming today, so I made it especially for you. Let me go get it."

After Alexis left the dining room, Lucy took this opportunity to explain. "That girl sure has a lot of skills. She had a part time job as a masseuse, so she was giving me a massage earlier." She hoped the blonde would not misinterpret their situation earlier. But the blonde didn't look at her. She didn't say anything and continued eating her dinner.

_Damn…this is not going well at all. Now she's ignoring me. _She thought to herself and blew her bangs up in frustration.

"Ok…here it is…Crème Brulee!"

"Wowwww…that...looks delicious…" Lucy complimented. This was the truth. She, herself, didn't know how to cook but had been taking cooking lessons in her spare time and she knew how time consuming it could be. Making it look good is one thing, making it taste good is even more difficult. The Creme Brulee looks so good, it looked like it was made by a professional pastry chef.

"Thank you. Let's eat. Tell me how it tastes." She offered one to each guests.

As they were eating, Ashley came in and stood next to Kristin.

"Are you done with dinner, can we open the presents together now?" Ashley had already started opening some of the gifts. There were so many. She felt that it would be more fun to open them with her favorite blonde.

"Of course, sweetie….Let's go upstairs now."

Seeing Keira had also finished eating her dessert, the little girl asked. "Can Keira come with us?"

"Umm, actually we have to get going. " Keira responded. "This is absolutely..delicious, Alexis."

Not taking a no for an answer, Ashley forcefully took Lucy's hand and pulled her up the stairs. "C,mon, let's go upstairs." Kristin and Alexis giggled at the little girl's action and Alexis was happy to see that the brunette was staying a little longer.

* * *

Torn gift wraps filled the floor inside Ashley's bedroom. All sat on the floor in a circle with Lucy sitting across from Kristin and next to Alexis. About 10 gifts have been opened so far.

"Ashley…we can open one more gift and I'll have to go…ok?" Lucy asked while looking at Kristin who had her eyes somewhere else.

"OK…I'm going to open this one." She picked up a small box from the floor.

She tore the gift wrap in pieces leaving it all over the floor with other gift wraps. When she opened the box, all eyes opened wide and they were mesmerized by what they saw; the brilliance, sparkle, and radiance of the gemstone. It was a necklace with a pyramid shaped diamond.

"Wowww….it's beautiful…" Kristin said softly. W_here have I seen this before?  
_

"It sure is." Alexis said.

"You like it?" Ashley asked her baby-sitter.

"It's beautiful, Ashley. Here, let me help you put this on." Kristin took the necklace out of the box.

"You can have it."

"What? No..no…this is your present, honey. They bought it for you, for your birthday."

"…but I want you to have it…look how many gifts I have…"

"Oh no, sweetheart, this is too expensive. I don't think the person who gave this to you would want you to give it away."

"You should take it." Alexis urged. "It's her way of showing how much she loves you."

"But…"

"I don't think that person would mind." Lucy interrupted, smiling at the blonde, who didn't say anything and completely ignored her.

"Who's it from, Ashley? Maybe we can call him to see if he would mind." Alexis said.

As Ashley looked around the floor for the torn gift wrap, Scud walked into the unclosed bedroom.

"Hey girls, looks like we have to stay here after all." Scud said.

"What? Why? What happened?" Lucy asked.

"Car won't start."

"You're kidding?"

"Nope, probably too much water got inside the engine."

"Does that mean Keira can sleep-over too?" Ashley asked.

"Yes, Ashley, and we can open all the presents together." Alexis responded.

"Yay!" Ashley clapped her hands while jumping up and down.

"Hey, since all the guest rooms have been taken, you can sleep in my room tonight. I'll go get everything set up." Alexis said happily as she got up from the floor, thinking that this would be her chance to talk to the brunette privately.

"What? Haaa chuu!…excuse me" Lucy sneezed loudly and covered her mouth with a tissue. "I…I have a cold. I don't think that's a good idea. I'll just sleep in the couch in the office."

"Actually, Jehan is sleeping in the office, so there's one more room left." Scud explained.

"…and I'm sleeping with Ashley tonight…" Kristin said, looking at Alexis.

"Oh…Ok….that works out then…" Alexis said as she sat back down on the floor. She was a little disappointed and tried not to show it.

"You know what, I think I'm going to go to bed. I think the medicine is taking effect." She yawned and stretched her hands out. "Ashley, do you mind if I go to sleep first?" The little girl shook her head. Lucy hugged her and went to the guest room.

* * *

12:00AM

Everyone had gone to sleep except for Kristin. Since a lot had happened that day, falling asleep was difficult especially in someone else's bed. She tried not to think about it. But as soon as she closed her eyes, events that happened that day appeared in her mind; especially the moments she had with Keira. How could she not think about her when she just spent almost an entire day with her. _Stop it_. She yelled at herself in her mind. _Stop thinking about her_. Lying still on the bed with a pillow over her head, she tried to let her unconscious mind take over. Finally after 20 minutes, unable to control her thoughts, she opened her eyes and sat up, frustrated with herself. Slowly she got up, being careful not to wake up Ashley who was sleeping next to her, she walked out of the bedroom and decided to get a drink of water. As she walked down the long dimly lit hallway on the second floor, she heard noises from the office. Sounded like someone talking on the phone. She remembered that Scud had said that Jehan was sleeping in the office. _Who's he talking to at this hour?_

Kristin had been in Michel's house many times and knew that there were surveillance cameras outside the house and not inside. She glanced around to make sure that no one was in the hallway. Slowly, she tiptoed towards the office and placed her ears against the door, hoping to be able to hear something. "Yes, I think I know who …are. I'll send someone.. tomor…. Uh huh.. I'll hire more bodyg..s. I'll make ...this won't happen again." What she heard wasn't clear, but she was able to understand some of it.

Suddenly she heard a noise behind her on the other end of the hallway. She turned around and saw someone coming out of the bathroom. _Is that...Keira? _She walked closer to get a better look.

The closer she got, she could see her holding her stomach, her back slouched, and her trembling legs moved one by one as if she doesn't have the strength to lift them up.

"Keira, is that you?" Kristin asked softly.

"Oh…hi" Keira whispered.

"OH MY GOD, what's wrong?" In front of her, she could now see that Keira's face and lips were as pale as snow. Keira had been in the bathroom for over half an hour. Her legs felt numb and weak and a funny sensation of tingling prevented her from moving her legs. Kristin quickly held her arm to support her when it looked like she was about to fall.

"Nothing...I just...got a stomach ache…I'm alright.." Keira spoke slowly and softly.

"Stomach ache? Looks like you have an allergy reaction to something. Let me help you to your room."

Kristin walked her into the guest bedroom, supporting her every step of the way. She helped lay her head down softly on the pillow and covered her with a blanket.

"Thanks." Keira said softly.

Kristin sat on the bed next to the brunette. "What are you allergic to?"

"lactose"

"Oh…the crème brulee.."

"Yea"

"Then...why did you eat it?"

"because it looked...so good… and she..spent so much...time in... making it….it doesn't...always...make me sick…" She responded slowly and quietly.

Her whole body trembled and her teeth started to chatter.

"Are you cold? You're shivering." Kristin placed her hands on the brunette's forehead and felt the coldness all over her face.

"yeeaaa…thiiissss…alwaaaays…haaappeeenss….after… I'll…be…..ok."

"Let me get you some more blankets." She looked inside the closet but could not find any. All she found was bath towels, so she placed them over the brunette.

Due to loss of energy, Lucy closed her eyes; her whole body trembling and cold. Kristin sat there to make sure she's alright. After awhile, seeing how the blankets weren't helping, she slowly moved her body closer to the brunette over the blanket, hugging her. She moved her face close to Lucy's, their cheeks touched, her palm placed on the other side of her cheek to keep her warm.

"Wh..whaaaatttt…areee…you..you…doiiing?" Lucy asked, unable to stop her teeth from chattering.

"I'm trying to keep you warm. Is this any better?"

"yes…" She mumbled, her eyes still closed.

A moment passed and Lucy tried to speak again.

"We…wwweren't doiiing annnyything…. she..was giivvviing meee a maassaaage."

The blonde pulled her head back to look at the brunette who still had her eyes closed and wondered why the sick woman in front of her was still trying to explain what happened when she clearly had no energy to speak.

"yoouuu…haaaveee…tooo..be"

"ssshhhhhhh…...I believe you…" She moved her face back into the previous position, cheek to cheek. She didn't say it just to stop the brunette from talking. She truly did believe her. If the brunette had any interest in Alexis, she would have agreed to sleep in the same room as her, but instead, she rather sleep in the office. That alone convinced her that what she saw wasn't what she thought it was.

"I..I... ddon't….th..think …I can go… to… the mov vies…toomoor." Lucy said, knowing full well that the blonde had not yet agreed to their 'date'.

She pulled back again and this time she could see that the brunette was trying to open her eyes but was unable to do so. She was too weak.

"ssssshhhhhh…...stop talking...…get some rest..." She whispered into her ear. "I'll take a rain check."

With that promise, a small smile appeared on Lucy's face and disappeared as fast as it came.

After 5 minutes, there was no improvement. Lucy was still shivering. _This isn't helping. _Slowly, Kristin got up and took away the towels. She lifted the blanket and slid herself underneath it, next to the weak brunette who was wearing a robe. She snuggled next to her body as closely as she can to transfer her own body heat. Her left hand rubbed the brunette's right arm, moving up and down to keep her warm. After a while, Lucy's trembling stopped, but the blonde did not notice because both had drifted off to sleep.


	8. Chapter 8

**Chapter 8**

10:00 AM

Awaken by the glare from the sunlight, she yawned and slowly sat straight up. With her fingers, she brushed through her hair. With her eyes barely open, she managed to take a peak at the clock on the table next to her bed.

"Oh my god…it's ten o'clock already!" Alexis said loudly. It was Saturday and she realized that she was late for work at the Café De Paris. Last night, she and Kristin ended up taking an hour opening all the presents and half an hour cleaning her sister's room before going to sleep. Quickly, she got up and got herself ready to go to work. As she walked hurriedly down the hallway, she suddenly stopped. _Keira slept over last night._ She wondered if she's still here. Quickly, she walked towards the guest room door and slowly turned the knob to see if it's locked. It wasn't. She smiled. Little by little, she opened the door to take a peak. Her curiosity pulled her inside the guest bedroom and she tiptoed towards the bed. She walked closer and closer hoping to catch a glimpse of the brunette before going to work. She stopped. Her eyes opened wide and her jaws dropped, shocked at the scene in front of her. _What's she doing in here?_

Underneath the blanket, Kristin looked like she was sleeping peacefully with a smile on her face; snuggling a pillow.

"Kristin, wake up." Alexis said repeatedly while shaking her arm lightly.

Awaken by the noise and movement, Kristin slowly opened her eyes, no longer smiling.

"What…what is it?" She whispered, squinting her eyes.

"What are you doing in here?" Alexis asked, a little upset.

Not fully awake, she did not understand the question and looked around. After a moment, her memory of last night came crashing back to her. _Oh my god!_ _I slept with Keira._ She couldn't tell Alexis what happened last night. From the events of yesterday, she noticed Alexis' behavior and believed that Alexis had a crush on the brunette. If she told her the truth, there definitely would be some misunderstanding and misunderstandings would lead to problems. She didn't need any more of those right now since she had plenty to think about, first the kidnapping, then the abnormal heartbeat, then the thoughts of the brunette constantly appearing in her mind, in her dreams.

"Where am I?" She pretended not to remember.

"You're in the guest bedroom where Keira was sleeping last night." She frowned at her as her thoughts of Keira and Kristin sleeping…together…on the same bed crossed her mind.

"I am?…oh my god!…I must have been sleep walking again." She lied.

"Sleep walking?"

She placed her hands over her head as if she had a headache. "I… I have this problem ever since I was a kid. It's more likely to happen if I sleep in a different environment."

"Oh…." Alexis said softly, realizing what she was thinking was completely wrong. "I see."

"Where's Keira? I hope I didn't frighten her."

"I don't know. I didn't see her when I came in." Alexis explained. "Well, I'm late for work." Realizing that it was a misunderstanding, she left the guest bedroom.

After Alexis closed the door behind her, Kristin dropped herself back on the bed and let out a deep breath; her hands covering her eyes. Once again, she blamed herself for allowing herself to fall asleep next to someone whom she had met for only a day. When she noticed what time it was, she couldn't believe how long she'd slept. That was the longest, most comfortable, restful, unbroken sleep she ever had. _She was sick…I couldn't just leave her alone by herself._ Kristin tried to come up with explanations of why she did what she did. _She looked so weak, so vulnerable … _As thoughts of the brunette's state from last night crossed her mind, her heart started to beat faster. Her eyes opened wide_. _Immediately, she sat straight up; her hand placed over her she realized that there might be a chance that she was talking in her sleep again and that the brunette might have heard something. _Does she know? _ _Is that why she left early? _She plomped back down onto the bed, covering her head with the pillow she was snuggling with earlier. _I shouldn't have been here last night._ _How did I not notice her leaving? What did I get myself into? ? I have to find out what she knows. _

* * *

Lucy's apartment

12:30 PM

In the living room, Scud was watching tv by himself. It was Saturday so both the former criminals didn't have to go to work. Lucy came out of the bedroom and walked across the living room to the kitchen.

"Are you feeling any better?" Scud asked.

On the way home, Lucy told him about the stomach ache she had, but she did not tell him about finding Kristin next to her in the bed. They left the Michel's residence around 7AM. When she got home, she took some cold medicine and went back to sleep.

Slowly, she walked back into the living room, holding a cup of hot water and sat next to Scud.

"Much better." She responded after taking a sip from her cup. Her voice sounded different due to her stuffed up nose.

"What did you find out?" Scud asked, staring at the brunette.

"I'm not sure, but there is definitely something going on with her." Scud stayed silent and waited for her to continue.

"When we were driving to Michel's house, she fell asleep. When I told her she was talking in her sleep, the way she reacted…I can sense she's hiding something."

"Really, what did she say when she was sleeping?"

"Nothing…I was just teasing her. But she thought she actually did say something and she got very upset with me when I won't tell her." Lucy put down her cup and got a tissue to cover her sneeze.

Scud pondered for a moment trying to remember the events from last night.

"Was that why she didn't talk to you in the dining room and was that why you wanted to leave when there was a hurricane warning?"

"No…that was because of Alexis." She stopped, realizing what she had just said would prompt Scud to ask more questions. _Shoot._

"What? Why?" Scud became more interested.

"uhh…nothing…forget what I said…it's not important."

"C'mon, Luce…you have to tell me everything. How are we going to figure this out together if you don't tell me everything?" Scud asked, a little frustrated at the brunette for not sharing all the information.

There was no way she was going to tell him about what happened last night. Kristin was supposed to be sleeping with Ashley and somehow ended up sleeping next to her. He would surely get a laugh out of it and he'd probably want more details.

"Really, that's not important. What's important is that I saw her eavesdropping on someone's conversation last night. Didn't you say Jehan was sleeping in the office last night?" Scud nodded.

"When I got out of the bathroom last night, I saw her standing next to the office. It was kind of dark, but I'm pretty sure she was eavesdropping…."

Lucy told him about the apartment Kristin lived in and learned from Scud that she had been living there for about a year by herself.

"Were you able to find anything about her background?" Lucy asked.

"Yea, she's from Iowa, no siblings, parents dead…she came to Paris about a year ago. Currently, she's enrolled in the Paris College of Art. She's using the money her parents left for her to pay for college."

"Art school? What's her major?" Lucy questioned.

"Drawing and painting…I know, it's too coincidental. Either she's Amy's identical twin or her doppelganger."

"What about the kidnappers?"

"Nothing on that, we'll need some more information from Michel."

"See what you can find about Jehan…I sense there's something going on with him."

"Ok….." He looked at the weak brunette in front of him. "Are you hungry? Do you want to eat something?"

"Yea, could you go out and get me something? No cold stuff. No fried stuff. I need to get rid of this cold fast." She said as she took a few more pieces of tissue.

"Sure, I'll be right back."

"Thanks."

As soon as Scud left, she lied down on the couch and placed a cushion under her head. Her eyes closed and her arms wrapped around another soft cushion. She allowed memories of this morning to flow into her mind.

* * *

This morning:

Sweat rolled down her forehead. Her face was burning hot and her body was sweating. The heat from her body woke her up. She blinked a few times and after a moment, she was reminded of what happened last night. Her head turned slowly to the left and she found Kristin snuggling close to her. The blonde's left arm draped around her ribs. The tall blonde had a smile on her face and was sleeping peacefully. She looked so much like Amy even when she was sleeping. Amy, is that you? She whispered. Every time she thought of Amy, she felt a sharp pain in her heart and she couldn't hold back the tears. She stared at her for a few minutes. Slowly, she moved her face closer to the blonde to kiss her. At inch from her lips, she stopped and pulled back. She really wanted to kiss her but decided not to. What if the blonde wakes up at that moment, how would she explain it and she's sick, so she didn't want to spread it to her. Careful not to wake up the sleeping beauty, she slid herself out of bed and placed her pillow under the blonde's arms. She decided to leave early to avoid any awkward situation. Besides, the last thing she wanted was have Alexis walk in on them.

Saturday 1 PM

Kristin had wanted to go see Keira that morning. But since Michel had plans to take Ashley and her out to the Aquarium de Paris that afternoon, her plans will have to wait. Besides she can't just show up at her place. She needed an excuse to see her and find out what the brunette knows. During the trip to the aquarium, Kristin noticed that there were a few men looking at them and following them. When she told Michel about this, she learned that they were men hired by Jehan to protect them. Jehan had also sent a few people to look after Alexis. She felt relieved to know that they were being protected, but at the same time, she felt uneasy because she didn't like being watched. After the aquarium trip, they headed to the Café de Paris for lunch.

The storm had caused a lot of damages. Tree branches and trash were everywhere. Some stores and apartments had their windows broken. Some utility poles and street signs were slanted due to the pressure of the powerful wind.

Seeing that there was still a lot of mess around the Cafe, they decided it was best to sit inside. As they were eating their lunch, the manager, Anton, walked to their table to talk to Michel, the owner of Café de Paris.

Anton informed him that there were a lot of takeouts because a lot of people had lost electricity.

"I need to go to the bathroom." Ashley asked.

As Kristin was about to speak, Alexis came to join them. "I'll take her."

"Are you sure? "

"No problem." She smiled at her sister. "I think you need a break from this kid." Ashley looked up and stuck her tongue out at her big sister who returned the same gesture. She quickly walked to the bathroom with Alexis following behind her.

Alone on the table, Michel sat uncomfortably, but Kristin did not notice. As she continued eating her lunch, Michel nervously asked.

"Kristin, do you….have any plans tonight?….I was wondering if you would like to go see a movie with me."

Kristin looked up at him and stopped what she was doing. She didn't say anything.

"I know I asked you out before and we always ended up taking Ashley with us. But this time it would be different….just you and me, I promise."

Not expecting this, she didn't know what to say or how to react. All that came to her mind was what Keira had told her yesterday. _Tell Michel how you feel. _But what the brunette didn't know was she couldn't tell him that. If she told him she had no interest in him, would he fire her? That would definitely ruin her plans. She didn't want to hurt him either. Having known him for a year, she believed that Michel was a genuinely nice guy.

"Actually, I do have plans today….but can I take a rain check?" She noticed that she'd been saying that a lot lately, once to Keira and now to Michel. _Aah hah…Keira did ask me out, didn't she? Maybe I could use that as an excuse to see her? _She smiled to herself at the idea, lost in her own thoughts.

Seeing Kristin's sweet smile, Michel knew that she wasn't just saying that to avoid going out with him. "OK, sure….just tell me when you have time and I'll drop everything." He extended his hand out on the table and as he was about to touch the blonde's hand, Alexis and Ashley came back from the ladies' room. Michel immediately pulled his hand back but Alexis caught a glimpse of what her dad was trying to do.

"Alexis, do you have time to join us for lunch?" Kristin asked.

Before Alexis could answer, Ashley pointed to the front desk. "Look, Daddy, there's Scott." Both Alexis and Kristin quickly turned towards the front desk. They weren't interested in seeing Scott. They wanted to see if Keira was with him, for different reasons. Michel called out and got his attention and Scott walked towards their table.

"Hey guys. How's it going?" Scud asked.

"Good…what are you doing here?" Alexis was the first one to ask. What she really wanted to ask is if Keira was with him.

"Ordering takeout."

"Did you lose electricity in your apartment too?" Michel asked. When Scud and Lucy left this morning, the only person they saw was the butler. Everyone else was still sleeping.

"Thank goodness no…we just don't feel like cooking…and Keira's sick at home."

Kristin quickly stood up. "Keira's sick?" Both Alexis and Kristin said at the same time, a little too loud. They both looked at each other and then turned towards Scott waiting for him to respond.

"she…just got a cold…no big deal…she's fine…really" He looked at both of them who had a concerned look on their faces.

Scott asked while looking at the menu. "Hey, do you guys know what a sick person should be eating? She said she doesn't want any fried or cold stuff."

Alexis immediately took the menu away from Scott. "I know. I'll order it for her." She said happily and went to the front desk. He was surprised at how quickly she responded.

"Hey Ashley, did you go to the aquarium today?"

"How did you know?" Ashley said, surprised. Scud pointed to her hand. It had an aquarium logo stamp on it. "Ohhhh…Can we go to your place to visit Keira?"

"ummm…not right now…she's still sick and we don't want you to get sick too…maybe when she feels better, you can go to our place to play…ok?"

"Promise?" Ashley said.

Scud held out his pinky but Ashley did not know what to do with it. Intertwining his last finger with hers, he said. "Promise." And the intelligent little girl understood.

"Scott, how sick is she? Does she have a fever?" Kristin asked.

"This morning she did, but not anymore. Right now, she just have a stuffy nose…nothing to worry about." He assured her.

_The fever must have woken her up._ _Should I go see her tonight?_ Kristin thought to herself.

Alexis walked over with the order.

"Food's ready…let's go, Scott." She pulled his arm towards the exit.

"Wait…where are you going?" Scott asked.

"I'm going over to your place to see Keira." All eyes including Ashley's focused on her.

"I don't think that's a good idea. She doesn't like visitors when she's sick." Scott explained. This wasn't a lie. The former criminal mastermind really doesn't want anybody to see her weakness.

"I need to make sure she's alright. I just took a 2-hour lunch break. C'mon, the food is going to get cold."

_Are all Michel girls this pushy? Shoot, how am I going to get out of this? _Scud thought to himself.

Suddenly, his phone rang and Scud immediately picked it up to stall time so he can think of an excuse to prevent Alexis from coming along.

"yea, uh huh..ok." Scud hung up. "That was Keira. Looks like there are some problems at work, so we have go to work. I'll take the food." Scud took the lunch from her. "Thank you. I'll make sure she knows you ordered it for her. Don't worry. She's ok." He said goodbye to everyone leaving Alexis standing there, a little disappointed.

* * *

Back in Lucy's apt

Lucy was taking a nap on the couch. As soon as she heard the door open, she sat up, extremely happy to see Scud back with the food. She was really hungry. This morning, she had eaten only 2 slices of bread and taken some cold medicine before going back to bed. When she heard what happened at the Café, she thanked him for preventing Alexis from coming over. She didn't want anybody else to see the weak side of her. After all, she used to be the most wanted badass criminal mastermind.

"Thank god for telemarketers….just at the right time." Scud said.

Lucy was so hungry; she gobbled up the tasty chicken noodle soup in minutes.

"Wow, this is goo..." She said unclearly, with a mouthful of food.

"Alexis ordered it. Guess she does know what's good for sick people."

"Oh…" Lucy felt a little guilty for not wanting to see her. What she wanted right now was rest and food. "I'll go thank her when I get better." She took the last bite of her bun. "What about Kristin?" She looked at Scud.

"What about her?"

"Did she say she wanted to come over to see me?"

"No, but she asked about you and I assured her that you're ok…

"Oh…" Lucy said, a little unhappy with the response, and lowered her head.

"Ashley wanted to see you, though." He looked at her with a smile. He knew that's not what she wanted to hear when the brunette looked at him without any emotion. "I also noticed that there were some men following them."

"Men?"

"I think they're just there to protect them…you know…bodyguards…"

* * *

Jehan sat in front of a man in his 70s in a spacious office, furnished with expensive furniture and paintings on the wall. With his head full of hair, he doesn't look his age.

"We're still looking for the place where Ashley was held." Jehan said.

"How are they?"

"They're fine…the doctor didn't find anything wrong with the blood test and Ashley doesn't know what happened."

"..and him?"

"Looks like it could be him because he sold the house several months ago and none of his friends know where he went….his sister and brother were gone as well."

He stood up and walked around.

"That boy, why didn't he tell me? I could have helped him."

"He doesn't want to worry you sir and he's afraid it would put them in danger. He didn't tell anybody. Just Ms Holmes, but that's because he had no choice."

"Holmes? What's her background?

"She and a friend owned a small surveillance system company. They've only met your son several months ago through business."

The businessman walked around again, not saying a word.

"Do you want me to contact…? Before Jehan could finish, he was interrupted.

"No…. not yet. Find them, persuade them. Take the last resort only if you have to." He sighed. "Only if you have to, understand." He repeated.

Michel's father, Benjamin Couric, was not always wealthy. He grew up in a medium income family and went to a business school with his family's support and working odd jobs. With hard work and determination, it took him a lot of years to be where he is, a billionaire with a notable reputation. Like any father, he wanted the best for his son. He sent his son to the best private schools and wanted him to follow his footsteps and take over his businesses someday. But plans don't always work out the way you wanted.

When Michel told him about his girl friend's pregnancy, he was furious with him. Michel was only 19 then. Benjamin had a lot of plans for his son. But all of that was ruined when Michel announced his plans of marriage at age 19. He had tried to persuade him to talk to his girlfriend about abortion. But every conversation led to arguments; and arguments led to bad father and son relationship. The thought of threatening his son to disown him crossed his mind, but it was only a thought that was never carried out. Because he knew Michel, even at a young age, had a lot of integrity and he would not have succumbed to it. It would have only ended their relationship badly and he couldn't let that happen. After all, Michel was his only child and his wife would not have allowed it.

After what happened, their relationship became distant. Michel's mother helped take care of his child, Alexis, while he continued with his studies. When he grew up, Michel would visit them on special occasions only if his mother were there.

A lot of people thought Michel succeeded in the financial industry because of his father's assistance. But this was not entirely true. He never worked for his father and he did not use any of his parent's money to open his businesses. Michel was a self-made millionaire. However, some of his clientele trusted and invested in him because he was the son of the well-known Benjamin Couric.

* * *

Monday 6PM

After two and a half day's of rest, Lucy felt much better, more energized. She did not go to work and had left everything for Scud to handle. Still not feeling like cooking dinner, she decided to go to Café de Paris to eat. It would also be a good time to thank Alexis if she sees her there. If she's not there, well then there's always tomorrow.

Lucy sat by herself inside the café eating her dinner while reading the newspaper. She learned from one of the waitress that Alexis had just left for the day. Oh well. As she was eating her dinner, someone called her.

"Keira, what are you doing here?"

She wiped her mouth with a napkin. _Well, what do you know? She is here. _"Hi, Alexis."

"How are you feeling?" She said ecstatically.

"Much better…Thank you." She smiled. "Actually, I was looking for you but they told me you left already."

"I forgot something, so I just came back to get it…...you're looking for me, why?"

"To thank you for the lunch the other day."

"Oh…I wanted to see you that day…but Scott said you had some business to attend to."

"aah yes…that's right…that was an exhausting day…" She lied and changed the subject. "Hey, have you eaten yet?…Let me buy you dinner as a thank you."

"You…want to buy me dinner to thank me?"

Lucy nodded but didn't understand why Alexis had a questioning look. If someone did you a favor, you thank them…as simple as that…

"Actually, I'm not hungry. How about you take me to the movies to thank me?"

_Here we go again. Movies would mean a date. She wanted me to take her out as if we're on a date_. _Should I fake food poisoning? That would be really mean. She doesn't deserve that. What if she wanted to follow me home?_ She thought to herself. "Uumm…I don't think…"

Before Lucy could reject her, Alexis immediately cut her off and sat down on one of the chairs across from her. Since they were all alone, this would be a good time to apologize. " I'm sorry…"

"For what?" Lucy was surprised.

"umm… for the other night… when I kiss you." She said slowly, a little embarrassed. Her eyes lowered to look at the table and then looked into the brunette's eyes. "I just couldn't help myself. It won't happen again…unless…you..want to."

"Alexis…."

"I know…I know…I'm moving too fast. We only met for a couple of days but I feel like I've known you forever. Sounds cliché, but I can't help how I feel."

"I understand that." Lucy said calmly.

"You…do?"

"I do….I've been there." Lucy responded slowly. Alexis reminded her a little of herself actually. When she saw something she likes, she goes after it….just like how she had kidnapped Amy to go out with her the first day she met her.

"You have…what happened?" Alexis became very interested in her story.

Lucy hesitated and shook her head. "It's…..a long story."

She extended her hand out and took one of Alexis's hands. "Alexis, you…are a very nice girl and I'm very flattered." _Oh no…not the nice girl speech_. Alexis thought to herself.

"I'm not going to lie to you. I was in a relationship before and I'm not sure if I'm ready to start a new one." Lucy said.

Alexis stared at her for a moment. "Is that why it didn't work out between you and that blind date….because you're not ready?"

Lucy pondered for a moment, trying to remember why she didn't go on a second date with that gorgeous girl. She couldn't remember why. "Yes…exactly."

Alexis reached out her other hand and held Lucy's hand. "You must still love her, then…"

She looked deeply into Alexis' eyes, hoping she would understand. "I do…and I always will."

Alexis could see she was telling the truth. It was her eyes and the way she said it. She wondered who it was that captured the heart of this amazing woman in front of her.

"How long?"

"What?" Lucy questioned.

"How long has it been since your last relationship?"

Lucy didn't understand why Alexis would want to know. She responded anyway. "Over two years."

Alexis could not believe it. _Two years…and she still couldn't forget her…She must really love her. _

_"_Where is she now?"

Lucy did not want to answer the question. She didn't want to lie to her either. She paused. No longer looking at Alexis, she pulled her hand back. Alexis could tell the brunette didn't want to answer but she really wanted to know. Lucy could not bring herself to say it because in her heart, she believed Amy was still alive. But according to the airline records, "She's..she's.…dead." Her heart ached at the sound of the word and she tried very hard to hold back the tears. Every time she thought about that day, she just couldn't control herself. Even when there is a possibility that Kristin could be Amy, she just wasn't sure.

"Oh my god…I'm so..so…sorry.." Alexis apologized for bringing up her painful past and quickly walked next to her side, bent down and wrapped her arms around her. Everyone has bad memories that they don't want to be reminded of. She understood that when her mother left her when she was just a child. _That was so stupid of me. Why did I bring that up?_ She thought maybe they broke up. Never in her mind thought that the one she loved could be…dead. _I have to think of something to make her feel better. _

After a moment, Lucy came back to her senses. This was not what she had in mind when she came to see her. _What just happened? _She was supposed to say thank you and then goodbye. _How did she end up being in Alexis' embrace? _Realizing that Alexis was hugging her, she pulled her away. "Alexis, it's ok."

"I'm sorry." Alexis apologized again and Lucy nodded.

"I just wanted you to understand."

Alexis nodded and looked at her in a way to let her know that she does.

To break the silence, Lucy offered. "It's getting late. Do you have a ride home? If not, I can drive you."

Alexis shook her head.

"OK, I'll drive you home." Lucy got up.

"No, I mean I still don't want to go home yet….but I would still like to go watch a movie."

"Alexis…" Lucy tried to reject her.

"…as friends…" Alexis added. "C'mon, there's this movie I really wanted to see but I have no one to watch it with…." Not hearing a response from the brunette, she asked. "When is the last time you went to the cinema?"

Lucy tried to think of the last time.

"That's what I thought." She took Lucy's hand. "I promise…this is not a date. We're only going out as friends, ok." She smiled at the brunette.

It had been a very long time since Lucy watched a movie in the cinema. Even though she would feel more comfortable watching dvds at home on her 50inch LCD tv, she had to admit the sound effect was not as good as the systems in the cinema. There was one movie she wanted to watch but it's very new so she had to wait for the dvd to come out. Going alone to watch a movie would be just too weird. She wondered why she never thought of going with Scud. Guessed they were just too busy with work and all. There were a couple of movies that she wanted to watch. _Guess I'll take Kristin to watch the other one since she did promise me a rain check on the date._ _That'll work. _She thought to herself.

After a moment of consideration, she smiled at her. "OK."

"OK…Great!….Let's go."

She grabbed Alexis' arm. "Wait…are you sure you're not hungry?"

"Well…I am a little hungry." Alexis made a hand gesture with her thumb and forefinger. They smiled at each other.

* * *

"So anyways…the guy just won't leave me alone and I told him it wasn't just him that I wasn't interested, it was the whole male population." While they were driving to the cinema, Alexis was telling stories about her past.

"Did he believe you?" Lucy asked.

"No. He thought I was making excuses not to go out with him. He was my friend's brother. Then he asked me to prove it…"

"Prove it?….prove that you're gay?…how?" She laughed. She hasn't felt this way for a long time…just talking about the silliest things and laughing about it.

"That's what I said. Then he asked me if I think her sister was pretty…and I said yes. Now her sister and I have been friends for a long time. When we first met, I did have a crush on her. I knew she wasn't gay, so I just kept it to myself and chose to be friends with her instead."

"Was her sister there?"

"Yes, she was standing next to me. Then he asked me to kiss her."

"What? He asked you kiss her sister, your friend, to prove that you're gay." Lucy asked.

"Yea, can you believe that?"

"What did her sister do?"

"She thought her brother was nuts. I did too and I still do."

"What did you do?"

"I started to walk away, but her sister stopped me. Then she told me if I don't do it, her brother will never leave me alone. She did have a point."

"She let you kiss her even though she's not gay?"

"Yup…so I looked into her eyes and I gave her a nod and she nodded back. Then I stepped closer to her and gave her the most passionate kiss that her brother has ever seen. You should see the look on his face. It was hilarious."

Lucy laughed loudly. "I can imagine. I'm guessing he believed you."

"Yup."

"Are you still friends with her sis?"

"Yea…nothing's changed and her brother apologized at the end. I did wonder if she was bi, though."

"Is she?"

"No…she told me she just wants to feel what it's like to kiss a girl." Alexis sighed and sat back, relaxed. She turned her head to look at the brunette, who had a big grin on her face, after hearing her story. _I made her laugh. _She felt relieved. She was truly sorry for reminding her of her painful memories. It'll take time for her to heal. _I'll wait._

"Alexis…." Lucy called out. "Alexis"

"huh…" Alexis shook herself out of her thoughts.

"Does your dad know?"

"Know what?"

Lucy had asked her 2 times already. From her response, Lucy knew she must be thinking of something and did not hear a single word she said.

"Does your dad know that you're gay?"

"Oh…um…I think so…but we've never talked about it."

"You think so?"

"Well, he knows I never had a boyfriend and I never talked about boys the way his friend's daughters do…and he never asked me if I have a boyfriend…so I think he does know in a way."

_Is that why he told me to take her out shopping? _Lucy now realized what Michel was trying to do at Ashley's birthday party. _He was trying to set me up with his daughter._ _Wait...how does he know that I'm gay? No, that couldn't be it. That doesn't make sense._ Lucy shook her head to get the thoughts out of her mind.

Out of the blue, Alexis thought of something that was bothering her. "Did you know Kristin has a sleepwalking problem?"

"What? No. How do you know?" Lucy was curious about everything related to Kristin. She wondered why Alexis suddenly brought this up.

"Remember that night you slept over…"

_Did she see us? _Lucy didn't show any emotion. "Yes"

"Did you see Kristin when you woke up?"

_Is that a trick question? Does she know?_ She wondered if Kristin told her what happened. "No. Scott and I left early. We didn't see anyone except your butler."

"Well, I found her sleeping in your bed that morning."

"What? Why? Did you ask her why?" Lucy played along.

"She said she has a sleepwalking problem."

"Oh…I see…must be scary waking up in someone else's bed." Lucy was happy to hear that the blonde didn't tell her the truth. _Guess I made the right choice of leaving early. _

"Yea…thank goodness she didn't walk into my dad's bedroom…that would be really embarrassing." Lucy agreed. "I think my dad really likes her."

"Oh really…how do you know?"

"I saw him trying to hold her hand at the restaurant the other day." Lucy wasn't happy to hear that.

_Damn it!…he's trying to make a move on her again. _She tried to stay calm.

"What about Kristin? Do you think she likes your dad?"

"I'm not sure.….God…I hope not…the thought of her being my dad's girlfriend and maybe stepmother someday…just don't feel right."

_You and me both. _Lucy thought to herself.

"I mean she's just a few years older than me….that would be just too weird."

"Yea, weird…" Lucy had nothing else to say. But she knows she'll never allow that to happen whether she's Amy or not.

* * *

"Here we are." It was Monday. The parking lot was somewhat empty. _Fantastic, less people, less noise. _Lucy thought to herself.

The cinema had 7 screens showing English language films. Once inside, they agreed on watching Captain America: The Winter Soldier. Lucy went to buy tickets and Alexis went to get soda and snacks. Unlike Alexis, Lucy didn't like to eat while watching a movie. It would be too distracting. At home, she would watch her movies and eat at the same time. It didn't matter because if she missed a scene, she could always rewind it. She knew Alexis didn't eat much at the Café, so she'll probably need some snacks during the 2-hour movie.

Alexis actually wanted to see Spiderman 2 but she heard from some friends that the main female character dies in the end. Since she doesn't want to remind Keira of her lover's death, she chose to see Captain America instead.

It was still early, so they didn't want to go into the rooms yet. Two bodyguards were following Alexis but not too close, so she didn't mind them being there. Lucy understood and just ignored them. As they were walking around, there was a large Spiderman-2 poster hanging on the wall that caught her attention. Lucy always liked superhero stories. That was the next movie she wanted to watch with Kristin. There were also other couples admiring the colorful poster in front of them. She decided to get a closer look and walked towards the wall, with Alexis next to her.

"Kristin, maybe we could come back and watch that next time."

Hearing the name, Lucy looked to her right and there she saw Kristin standing next to her and Michel standing next to Kristin.

"Keira…Hi" Michel said. This caught the attention of the blonde and she immediately looked to her left and saw the brunette staring at her.

"Hi." Lucy and Kristin said quietly. Kristin was surprised to see her here and she even more surprised to find Alexis next to her.

"Dad…what are you doing here?"

"Oh…umm..hi, Alexis…I'm….we're just going to watch a movie."

"Where's Ashley?"

"She's at your grandmother's."

Lucy saw the frown on Kristin's face when she looked at Alexis. _Shoot…I know what she's thinking. _Quickly, she said to Kristin. "We were just going to watch a movie." _That was stupid. Of course we're here to watch a movie. Why else would we be here? She must think we're on a date. How am I going to explain this?_

"Dad, are you guys here on a date?" Alexis asked.

"ummm…no…we were just going to watch a movie…that's all…" Even though they were on a date, Michel couldn't tell her that. He knew she wouldn't have approved. Besides, it's just too early to tell if Kristin felt the same way that he feels toward her. Alexis nodded but she didn't believe him.

"Keira, let's go inside…it's almost starting…we'll see you later, Dad…bye Kristin" As she pulled Keira away from them, Keira turned her head to keep looking at Kristin and Kristin watched them leave without saying a word.

"Kristin, let's go…it's starting." Kristin didn't say a word and just followed him. In her mind, she was wondering if Alexis and Keira were on a date. _I thought she wasn't interested in her. Did she lie to me? Did she asked us both out? _

Inside room #7, Alexis and Lucy chose to sit in the center of the room. There were a lot of empty seats. Lucy sat there, staring at the blank screen. _Why is she here with Michel? I thought she wasn't interested in him. I thought she was going to tell him the truth. _She was no longer in the mood to watch a movie. All she wanted to do is see Kristin and explain her situation; hoping the blonde won't misinterpret again.

"Oh shoot…" Alexis said.

"What?"

Alexis pointed her finger and Lucy saw that her dad and Kristin also bought tickets for the same movie.

"I hope they don't sit next us…." Alexis covered her eyes, hoping her dad won't notice them.

But he did and so did Kristin. Luckily, they chose to sit a few rows in front of them near the right side of the screen. After a few minutes, the movie started and the lights switched off. Her head faced the screen but her eyes focused on the blonde. Once in a while, she glanced back at the screen, but her mind was just not into it.

Sitting to the left of Michel, Kristin stared at the screen. She wanted to turn her head to look at the brunette, but she was afraid Keira would see her.

Michel also sat still during the entire movie, not making any moves on the blonde. If Alexis wasn't here, he would have tried to put his arms around Kristin or tried to hold her hands.

9PM

After 2 hours, the movie finally ended and people started to leave. Outside the ticket entrance, Lucy and Alexis saw Michel talking on the phone. He waved to Alexis for her to come over. When they approached him, he hung up.

"What's the matter, Dad?" Alexis asked.

"Jehan just called. Your grandma is in the hospital."

"What!"

"It's ok…she's alright…she's in no serious danger. But she wants to see her now and Ashley is with her."

Alexis felt relieved and agreed.

"Keira, Kristin is in the ladies room. Do you mind telling Kristin and give her a ride home?" Michel asked. He did not want to leave the blonde, but had no choice. He was a little worried about his mother and wanted to be there as soon as possible.

"No problem." Lucy said. Alexis and Michel left the cinema and the bodyguards followed.

She was happy that she finally got to be alone with Kristin. _Now how should I explain this? What's there to explain? _I should just tell her the truth. We weren't on a date. I told her how I felt and she understood.

Meanwhile, behind her, Kristin saw that Alexis and Michel were not around. _Should I ask her why she's out with Alexis? _She noticed the brunette was talking to herself. _I should find out what she knows about me._

"Who are you talking to?" A voice from behind spoke.

"Oh…Hi…" Lucy was startled and turned around.

"Where's Michel and Alexis?"

"Her grandmother is in the hospital…and"

"What? Is she alright?"

Lucy told her what happened and Kristin calmed down. "Are you ready to go home?" Lucy politely asked.

"Actually, do you mind if we walk around? I don't want to go home yet."

"Sure…" Lucy thought this was a good opportunity to explain to her why she's with Alexis; although the blonde didn't seem to be upset about it. _That's odd._

On the streets, there were a lot of people walking around and stores are still open. There were a lot of stands on the sidewalk and people gathered around them to look at what they're selling. Outside the restaurants and cafes, people sat on the tables eating dinner, talking, and admiring the beautiful night sky.

As they walk slowly around a small park where it was a lot quieter and a lot less people, Kristin started the conversation.

"So it looks like you're all better." She said, looking straight ahead.

"Much better…thank you…thank you for that night."

Memory of that night flow into their minds.

"Yea…sure…I just wanted to make sure you're all right…..guess I fell asleep myself." Kristin lowered her eyes. She felt a little embarrassed about it. Both didn't say anything.

After a moment of silence, Kristin asked. "So you and Alexis…how did you two…?

_Here we go. _Lucy stopped. Kristin stopped talking. They looked at each other.

"I told her how I felt and she understood…She wanted to watch a movie because she had no one to watch it with…..We were just going as friends." Lucy said seriously, hoping the blonde would believe her.

Kristin gave a little nod and turned around and started walking. But she noticed the brunette did not move. She stopped and turned around. There was seriousness in the brunette's face. "I believe you…." She smiled. That was not a lie. She really did believe her.

Hearing that, Lucy started walking again next to the blonde. "What about you and Michel?" Lucy asked.

Kristin stopped. She knew that was coming. "What about us?"

"Did you tell him how you feel?"

She looked into Lucy's eyes and decided to turn around and started walking again.

"It's...not that simple."

Lucy did not understand. _How complicated can it be? I told Alexis how I felt and she's ok with it. If she told Michel how she feels, the worst thing he could do is fire her. So what? There are other babysitting jobs out there…unless…unless…she has other plans…What is she hiding?_

"He's a nice guy. I just don't want to see him get hurt in the end." Lucy said as she followed behind her.

Kristin stopped and turned around. W_hat does she mean by that?_ _Does she know? _"What do you mean? I'm not going to hurt him."

Lucy walked towards the blonde.

"You're giving him hope. The longer you be with him, the deeper he'll fall. In the end, he's going to find out and he's going to get hurt."

_"_I…I…" Kristin couldn't think of anything to say.

"You can't play with someone's emotions. He might not survive it."

_She's right but what can I do?_

"Have you ever fallen in love before?" Lucy asked.

"What?" Kristin was still thinking about what Lucy had just said about Michel.

"Have you ever fallen in love before?" Lucy asked again.

The blonde slowly shook her head and whispered. "No"

"If you have…you'll understand what I'm talking about."

"You have?"

She stepped closer to the blonde and looked deeply into her eyes. "Yes."

"What…does it feel like?" Kristin said quietly.

"When you love someone, you want nothing more than for her to be happy." She paused and move one step closer. "When you love someone, you always want the best for her and you would never hurt her."

Lucy stepped closer and closer as she was talking. Her face a few inches from the blonde.

Looking into those brown eyes, Kristin's heart started to pound hard and fast.

"When you're in love, your heart races and you can't control it...When she touches you, you'll feel butterflies in your stomach. You would feel incomplete without her...When she kisses you, it takes your breath away and you'll get this wonderful sensation…and…"

Lucy stopped and could not continue because Kristin had leaned in and surprised her with a kiss.


	9. Chapter 9

Chapter 9

Her heart was beating so fast, it felt like it was going to jump out of her chest. That weird feeling in her stomach started to appear again. She couldn't take it anymore. 'Ask yourself what you want to do at that moment. Don't think. Just do it.' That's what the doctor said. And so…she did.

Kristin leaned in and kissed her. She closed her eyes and moved her lips over the brunette's. After a few seconds, she felt Keira's smooth lips moving along with hers. Both of their hands were by their sides. The only part of their body that was touching was their lips. _She tasted like strawberries._ When breathing became an issue, she slowly pulled back and in that instant, she saw Keira with her eyes still closed, clearly enjoying the kiss as much as she did.

Lucy slowly opened her eyes, not believing what just happened. _She just kissed me._ The blonde felt her cheeks warm and she knew she was blushing. They smiled at each other and leaned their foreheads against each other's; both gasping for air.

After a moment, Kristin asked. "What were you about to say?"

"I…I…I don't remember." A big grin appeared on Kristin's face, happy to see the effect she had on the brunette.

It had been a long time since Lucy kissed anyone. It was unexpected. She was more out of breath than the blonde was. She tried hard to remember what she wanted to say earlier before she was interrupted by the kiss. Both still breathing hard and after a moment, Lucy spoke. "I was going to say…when you're in love, you'd think about her all the time."

"I know that feeling." Kristin replied.

"…and you'll always…" Lucy was about to continue to tell her what it's like to be in love.

"Keira.."

"yes?"

"Shut up." She whispered. With that, Kristin smiled and once again locked her lips onto Keira's. She touched gently at the nape of her neck while the brunette encircled her waist, holding her even more closer.

They were so engrossed in the heated kiss; both did not hear the footsteps approaching from behind the brunette. When Lucy felt a sharp object pointing to her back, she gave out a short moan which the blonde thought it was a response from the kiss. Kristin pulled her in closer and continued to kiss her. When Lucy pushed her away gently, Kristin opened her eyes and saw the startled look on Lucy's face and immediately noticed the man behind her.

"Sorry to interrupt …but you should really be doing that inside….now nobody move…or she's going to get hurt."

"Don't hurt her…I'll give you what you want." Since Kristin didn't know whether he had a gun or a knife, she immediately pulled out her wallet from her purse.

"Are you kidding me? You only had 20 euros."

"That's all I have." She opened her wallet and showed it to him.

"What about you, lady?" His left arm was wrapped around Lucy's neck and his right hand was holding knife behind Lucy's back.

Lucy took out her wallet from her jacket. "Here, take this and go." If she was alone, she could have taken care of him. But she did not want to risk the chance of getting Kristin hurt. Lucy handed her wallet into the thief's left hand that was wrapped around her neck. When he was about to leave, he saw a shiny object on Kristin's neck.

"Take the necklace off." He demanded.

Afraid of getting Keira hurt, Kristin followed his order without a second thought. As she was about to take it off, Lucy said. "Don't…."

"Just take my wallet and go. There's a lot of money in there." Lucy said to the thief.

The thief moved the knife closer against her back, making Lucy winced in pain. "Shut up…do you want to die?"

She looked at Keira. "It's ok." She then looked at the thief. "Don't hurt her…I'm taking it off."

Lucy had a plan and hoped that it would work. She blinked once to Kristin, hoping she get the idea. After Kristin took off the necklace, she extended her trembling hand out, holding the necklace. The thief switched hands; his right arm wrapped around Lucy's neck, holding a 10-inch sharp knife closer to her neck. He put the wallet into his left coat pocket. The position of the knife was now next to Lucy's neck, which was even more dangerous than before.

As he was about to grab the necklace from the blonde's hand, she intentionally dropped the necklace.

"What are you doing?"

"I'm sorry…I'm just scared." Kristin lied. _Shoot, it didn't work._ She thought that Lucy wanted her to drop the necklace so that she could get herself out in that moment of surprise.

As the blonde was about to get closer to pick up the necklace, he quickly placed his left arm behind Lucy's back and stepped back a few steps pulling her with him, and pushed the knife against her neck even harder. He was afraid that the blonde would try to attack him from below.

Seeing that Kristin was no longer as close to them as before, Lucy pulled the thief's right wrist down with both of her hands and bent her body at the same time. While twisting his hand, she ducked her head under his right arm, thus escaping the hold he had on her. The twisting of his wrist forced him to open his hand and she was able to grab the knife. Once she was in the back of him, she kicked the back of his right knee, forcing him to fall down flat on the ground. Immediately, she placed her right knee hard on his back, her left leg stepped on his left hand and she held the knife with her right hand close to his neck.

Kristin was amazed at what she saw. As she was about to come closer, Lucy held out her left hand to signal her to stop.

Lucy turned towards the thief. "Look buddy, I know how hard it is out there, but stealing is not the solution." She took her wallet back and took 300 euros out and put it into this coat pocket. "I hope you'll try harder and change after this. There's always a way out."

Going to the police station was the last thing she wanted to do, so she decided to let him go.

"I'm going to let you go…so don't move or I can't promise I won't hurt you." The thief, who had his left side of the face against the ground, nodded.

Lucy slowly got up and walked back a few steps. It was dark so she couldn't really see what he looked like. The thief stood up and before he started to run away, he thanked her.

Kristin quickly ran towards the brunette. "Keira, are you alright?" Kristin asked with a worried look on her face.

"I'm fine. Are you ok?" Kristin nodded and hugged her tightly. "How did you do that?"

"Oh…I've been taking self defense classes." Lucy said, which it's true. She had been taking sparring and martial arts classes as well as cooking classes during her spare time.

"C'mon, let's go home." Kristin had a lot of questions to ask her. But seeing that this place wasn't safe, all she wanted to do was to leave with the brunette.

"Wait…did you get the necklace?" The blonde shook her head and Lucy walked back to try to find it. It was dark and the light from the light poles helped a little.

After several minutes of looking, they still couldn't find it. "Oh my god, Keira, you're bleeding." Kristin could now see the blood on her neck.

Lucy placed her hand on her neck and she winced in pain. "It's just a little blood...I'm fine…" She continued looking for the necklace, touching the ground with both hands.

"We have to get home and take a look at that." Kristin said but the brunette ignored her.

"Keira, the necklace is not important. We have to take a look at your wound."

"It is important. It's one of a kind…Ashley gave that to you…..Ah hah! I found it." Lucy was extremely happy.

"Ok, can we go now before you faint from the bleeding?" Kristin said jokingly. They smiled at each other. It was getting dark and cold. Kristin looped her hand through Lucy's left arm and both walked quickly back to the car.

Once inside the car, Lucy started the car and was about to shift gears.

"Wait, Keira…turn on the lights." She wasn't sure what the blonde wanted to do but she did as told.

Kristin opened the glove compartment and found some tissue inside.

"Here, let me take a look at your neck." She leaned over and the brunette brushed her hair away from her neck.

As she blotted the wounds dry with the tissue, Lucy uttered a short sharp cry of pain.

"Sorry, it's little deep…do you have any bandades here?"

"In my car?…I don't think so…I'm ok…"

"….Sorry, I thought you wanted me to drop the necklace..so you could…"

"I did….I figured he would step back after you tried to pick it up so I could do my thing and there won't be any chances of you getting hurt."

"Oh…" Kristin now realized what the brunette was trying to do. _If she only knew, a small knife like that won't be able to hurt me._ She stared at her. Lucy was still holding her hair and her head was facing the front of the car. Kristin placed her hand over for her face. At the touch, Lucy dropped her hair and looked at the blonde. Gently rubbing Lucy's cheek, Kristin said quietly. "You...are so sweet."

Lucy took the blonde's hand from her face and gave it a gentle kiss. "I won't let anyone hurt you." She said seriously while gazing into her eyes.

Hearing those words, Kristin's heart started to race again. She knew she was totally falling for her and she didn't allow her mind to think of anything else but what's in front of her. Slowly, she leaned in and Lucy did the same. Before she was able to touch her lips, Lucy yelped again.

Kristin noticed the brunette had placed her hand over her back. "Let me see."

Lucy turned her body to the right and the blonde lifted her shirt and jacket.

"Keira, you have another wound on your back." She quickly placed a tissue over it.

"Is it deep?"

"A little deeper than the ones on your neck." She took more tissues to dry the blood. "I am so sorry…If we just went home, this would never have happened."

Lucy quickly repositioned herself and looked into the blonde's eyes. "Hey, …I'm glad we didn't, otherwise, this would never have happened…" She hoped Kristin would understand what she was referring to. "Do you have any regrets?"

After a moment, Kristin understood and shook her head. "No." She smiled and the brunette was relieved to hear that. Seeing that Lucy was in pain before, she leaned in more towards her and gave her a short kiss while touching her smooth cheek.

"Before I forget, here." Lucy pulled out the necklace with the pyramid shaped diamond from her pocket.

"Let me help you put this on." The blonde lifted her hair and stared at Lucy while she put it on.

"How did you know it was one of a kind?" Kristin asked.

While busily trying to hook the ends of the necklace and not thinking too much about the question, she spontaneously responded. "I had it custom made."

Realizing what she had just said, she looked at the woman in front of her.

"This was your gift to Ashley?"

"Well, yea…Scott and I bought it…I designed it."

"So…that's why you said the owner won't mind when Ashley gave this to me." Lucy nodded. Everything's clear to her now.

"I'm glad she did. I also wanted you to have this."

Deep in her thoughts, Kristin now remembered where she'd seen the pyramid shaped diamond. It was in her dream. The brunette and the diamond both appeared in the same dream, the day when she met her. _It was her. But why? How?_

"Kristin…Kristin…" Lucy called out and pulled her out of her reverie.

"I hope you still want to wear this."

She said in her sweet voice. "Of course I will…I'll treasure it even more." They smiled at each other.

* * *

During the ride, Lucy noticed that Kristin kept touching the diamond on her necklace and she was lost in her thoughts again. Whatever she was thinking of, Lucy knew that the blonde loved it very much. _What a night? So many things have happened tonight…so many good things…it happened so fast, so unexpected..She's falling for me… _Lucy smiled to herself.

Deep in her thoughts, she stared at the sky filled with stars that shine like diamonds. Her fingers holding, touching and feeling the diamond on her necklace. _Who is she? Why is she appearing in my dreams? Why am I falling for her? How am I going to explain this? They don't have to know. If they ask, I'll just tell them she's a friend. It's part of the plan, that's all. So many things have happened tonight…oh my god, I totally forgot why I had to see her. _She frowned. _I have to find out if I was talking in my sleep._

"So…did Alexis tell you that she saw me that morning? Kristin asked.

"that morning?…which morning?" Lucy knew exactly which day she was talking about, but she just wanted to have some fun with her.

"You know that morning when you slept over."

"Oh!…that morning….she did….she said you had a sleepwalking problem."

"Oh…yea…that's all I could think of at that moment." Kristin smiled, still embarrassed about that night.

"Why didn't you tell her the truth?" Lucy asked.

"What?…tell her the truth? Did you tell her the truth?"

"No" Lucy said.

"Why not?"

"I don't want her to get the wrong idea."

"and what idea would that be?" Kristin asked. She knew the brunette was just teasing, so she played along.

"that you slept with me…" Lucy stated.

"Oh…I did?…I thought I just slept next to you."

"well…yes…that's how I found you…but I was so out of it that night, I wouldn't have known if you did anything else to me….You didn't do anything else to me, did you?"

"Keira!" Kristin slapped her arm playfully and Lucy laughed.

"Did you see anything or touch anything?" Lucy continued with her silliness.

Kristin was blushing immensely. "No…I was too tired and I fell asleep."

"Ohhhh…so if you didn't fall asleep, then you would have?" Lucy took a quick glance and saw the look in her face. She knew that she got her when she didn't speak. She smiled and continued. "You know I did find your arm over my body when I woke up."

Hearing that, Kristin thought of something to say. "Oh, that's right, you did woke up before me, didn't you? Did you see anything or touch anything while I was sleeping?"

_Shoot…she got me there._

"Well…did you?" Seeing her hesitation, Kristin now wondered if the brunette did do something to her.

"I…no…I didn't."

"I don't believe you….you hesitated." Kristin said loudly. "What did you do?"

"I didn't. I swear. I had a fever that morning. I wanted to…but"

"You wanted to?"

_Geez, why did I say that? What did I get myself into? _Lucy thought to herself."Can you blame me? I woke up with this beautiful woman next to me."

"Stop it with the charming. It's not going to work. What did you do?"

Seeing that there's no way out of this, Lucy said slowly. "I…wanted…to..kiss..you."

"Oh…" Kristin was embarrassed and lowered her head.

"But I didn't"

"You didn't?" Kristin's head shot up.

"No…I was sick…I didn't want to spread it to you."

"aaww…how considerate of you..." Lucy was glad that she understood.

"so…if you weren't sick, you would've kissed me, then, without my permission, while I'm sleeping?"

Lucy swallowed hard. _She got me._ _I can't get out of that one, that's for sure. _She stayed silent for a moment. "Oh look…we're here."

Kristin looked at her, smiling. The brunette was caught and didn't have anything to say. She was relieved to know that she didn't talk in her sleep that night.

* * *

Since it's getting dark and it's not safe in that neighborhood to walk at night, Lucy walked the blonde to her apartment. Kristin wanted to protest at first, but seeing what had happened before, she believed Lucy could protect herself from any kind of danger.

They stopped at the door of her apartment.

In front of the door, she noticed something on the slit of the door. She stopped and quickly turned around.

"uumm…Good night…thanks for today." That was all she could come up with this short amount of time.

Lucy was surprised that the blonde did not offer to let her in after everything that had happened. _Is there something inside I shouldn't see?_

"Can I use the bathroom?" Lucy asked.

_I was afraid she would ask that._

"Ummm…yeah..sure." She turned around and took out her keys. She tried to make more noises than usual and took a longer time to open it.

Once the door was opened, she took a peak first before opening the door wide. "Come in…help yourself." Lucy walked in and did not notice anything different except that the bedroom door was closed. _For someone who lives alone, why would she close the bedroom door before leaving the apartment?_ Once inside the bathroom, she searched around again and did not find anything unusual. She placed her ears against the door but did not hear anything.

She walked out of the bathroom and found Kristin waiting for her in the living room.

"This is a nice apartment." Lucy said.

"Yea…it's all I could afford….you know…with school..and..all." Kristin figured that, by this time, Lucy already knew about her background from either Alexis or Michel.

_I shouldn't have said that._ "Right…" She looked into the blonde's eyes and took both of her hands. "If you need anything, you just let me know….ok?"

After a moment, Kristin nodded and wondered why the brunette was being so nice to her even though they just met a few days ago.

Lucy walked around the living room admiring the pictures on the wall. "Did you draw these?"

"Yes…I did those several months ago."

"Nice…" She walked to another wall and saw another picture. It was picture of a human figure sitting on a beach staring at the sunset. "How about this one? Where is this place?"

Kristin walked over next to her. "I'm not sure. That just appeared in my head one day so I just drew it."

"Is that sunrise or sunset?"

"hmmm….I don't know…" She thought that was a good question.

"Is that a woman or a man?"

"I….don't know that either…"

Lucy continued to walk around. What she really wanted to see is her bedroom.

"Hey, is this your bedroom?" Without waiting for an answer, she turned the knob and opened it.

"Wait…" Kristin said a little loudly and held out her hand. The blonde quickly walked over and was surprised to see that no one was there.

"Sorry, I didn't mean to be nosy." Lucy apologized.

"It's…alright. I just didn't want you to see how messy I am." She lied. Both looked inside the bedroom and it was as clean and organized as an unused bedroom in a hotel. Lucy looked at her with a questioning look. "If that's messy, you should see my bedroom."

"I forgot I cleaned it this morning. It's not always this clean." She yawned. "Hey, it's getting late…you should go home and take care of that wound before it gets infected."

_Ok, now she's trying to kick me out._

Kristin walked her to the door. Before Lucy allowed Kristin to close the door behind her, she asked. "When can I see you again?"

Kristin couldn't think right now. All she wanted to do was close the door. "I'll call you."

Lucy smiled and nodded.

"Good night." Kristin said.

As Kristin was about to close the door, Lucy placed her foot to stop the door from closing. "You still owe me a date. Today doesn't count….Okay?" She flashed a diamond smile on her.

_Oh my god..she is so adorable. _Kristin thought to herself. She leaned in and kissed her to assure her that she didn't forget about the date. "Good night." She whispered and smiled.

And with that, Lucy was finally satisfied and took her foot out of the doorway. "Good night."


	10. Chapter 10

**Chapter 10**

After she closed the door, Kristin leaned back against it. She let out a satisfying sigh and closed her eyes and reminisced the events that had happened an hour ago. In the past, she had never felt anything like this before. During the years in college, there were a few guys who had asked her out but she wasn't interested in any of them. She could not believe that she had fallen for someone she had only met a few days ago and that someone just happens to be a girl. She doesn't even know anything about her.

On the other side, Lucy stood there and wondered who else was inside the apartment. _The only way to find out is wait downstairs. _She decided to get out of there before Kristin sees her through the peephole.

After checking the peephole and opening the door to see if Keira was still there, she quickly closed the door. "Okay, you can come out now."

"Finally. Do you know how small that cabinet is?" A woman with brown hair struggled out of one of the bottom cabinets in the kitchen. "Thank goodness you don't have much in here."

"Thank goodness you're small enough to fit in there. Kat, what are you doing here?"

"Nice to see you too." Appeared in front of her was a 5 feet thin woman in her 20's. "They want to know if you found anything new." She said while stretching her hands and legs and bending down to touch her toes.

"you came over just to ask me that. You know…I do report to them every other day." Kristin said sarcastically. "You almost got me caught." She frowned at her.

Kat looked around. "But you didn't. And they also want me to see how you're doing, mentally." Kat had been in the same agency as Kristin for about the same amount of time. She's about the same age as her and has the same rank.

Kristin immediately responded. "I'm fine….Did they find the kidnappers?"

"No…they're still looking into it. You know, you're lucky to still be alive."

Kristin walked to the kitchen sink and opened the faucet to wash Keira's blood from her hands. She mumbled to herself. "Tell me about it." _Thank god Keira was there._ The thought of Keira brought a smile to her face.

"Who was that?"

"Nobody…just a friend who wanted to use the bathroom." She said without looking at her.

"Here." Kat held out a small box.

"A gift for me…you shouldn't have." Kristin said sarcastically. She has nothing against Kat. It's the ones who're in charge she didn't like. Even though she was assigned to do a job, sometimes she just doesn't like their plan. But orders are orders and she had to followed them.

Inside the box was a necklace with a silver pendant in the shape of a heart. "This will replace the one you lost."

_Another necklace. _"I'm not wearing this."

"Why not? It's a tracer…It'll save your life." Kat explained.

"Ohhh...like the last one. For your information, I didn't lose it. They took the necklace. Unless you want to surgically implant a tracer in my body, then nothing's going to work." Kristin said loudly and Kat could tell she was getting frustrated.

"Ok, ok…calm down…don't shoot the messenger." Kat raised her hands up in surrender.

Kristin let out a few deep breaths and calmed herself down. She rubbed her temples. "I'm…sorry."

Kat walked closer to her and spoke in a gentle voice. "It doesn't look like you're fine. Do you want to talk about it?"

Kristin walked to the living room and slumped onto the couch while Kat followed and sat next to her. "It's been so long. This mission. It's almost a year now and I just feel…so tired, so tired of lying." She flipped her head back.

"I know and I understand. But that's our job…to get the bad guys…to protect the ones who can't protect themselves."

"I know…but it's been a year now and I can't find anything wrong with Michel. He's a good guy. I just…I just don't want to lie to him anymore." She remembered what Keira had said._ In the end, he's going to get hurt and he might not survive it. _

"Is this what it's all about?"

Kristin narrowed her eyes towards her.

"You've falling in love with him and you're afraid he won't forgive you when this is all over." She stated.

"What!"

"You know, these things have happened before….playing the role of a seductress and actually falling in love with the one you're spying on. I mean, as long as he didn't break any laws, then I guess it would be ok."

Keira sat straight up, shocked at what Kat was implying. "NO…I am NOT in love with him." She said loudly with such frustration, it made Kat jumped.

Kat moved back a little. "Ok, ok…" She paused for a moment and let the blonde calm down. "Then what is it?"

"It's because...he's falling for me. The longer I do this, the deeper he'll fall and I don't want to end up hurting an innocent man…."

Those were the words from Keira an hour ago. She said it with so much emotion, it made Kristin feel even more guilty for leading him on and it made her think of the possibilities of what could happen if she allowed their fake relationship to go any further. People in love could do crazy things for each other. A one-sided love could change a person mentally and could lead to unimaginable consequences.

She thought back to what Keira had said. _It sounded like she had experienced something like that before._ _Something awful must have happened to her and she must not want anyone else go thru what she did._ She lowered her head and rubbed her temples again.

"Oh…" Kat had nothing to say to that and just patted her back.

After a moment, her head shot up. "Hey, do you think they will allow me to change the plan?"

"What do you have in mind?"

"I want to tell him that I'm not interested in him."

"If you tell him that, then how do you expect to get close to him? It took you months just to get his trust and now you want to throw it all away."

"His daughter loves me and I don't think he would fire me. He'll understand."

"Even if he doesn't fire you, do you think he would invite you to his house anymore for rejecting him? Man has pride. He's not going to trust you as much. It's going to be awkward. He's going to try to avoid you in any way he can. Even if we can't find anything on him, how are you going to get close so you can find out about Jehan?

Kristin let out a big sigh and slumped her back against the couch. _There goes that idea._ "What did you guys find out?"

"Well, Jehan used to work for his father, but we're not sure if Michel knows that. Maybe you can find out about that. He had a meeting with his father and looks like he's having people searching for the kidnappers."

She looked at the blonde who just stared at the ceiling.

"If it makes you feel any better, from what I heard, this is going to be huge. There are so many departments involved, it's going to be on the front page of every newspaper and everyone's going to know about it when this is all over."

She saw the frustration in the blonde and sympathized with her situation; placing a hand on Kristin's lap. "Look, why don't you try to relax by going out with your friends, go watch a movie or go shopping. Go with someone where you don't have to pretend you're having fun. It'll take the stress away. Then when the time comes to do your job, you just switch mode, that's all." She snapped her fingers.

"Just like that, huh?"

"Yup…just like that." Kat snapped her fingers again and smiled at her. "We're trained for that and they understand we're human too."

They paused for a moment.

"So how's school going?"

"It's fine. I can't wait to go back." Kristin said with her eyes closed.

"Good…see…they're not that inconsiderate. At least they allowed you to use that as your cover. Now you can do what you love AND get the bad guys." Kat tried to cheer her up and she knew it was working when she saw her smile.

_Have fun with friends, sounds like a good idea. Now I don't have to make up an excuse. _Kristin thought to herself and smiled.

"They want someone to follow you so that that incident doesn't happen again."

She opened her eyes wide and sat straight up. "Wait…what? That's not a good idea."

"Why?"

"Because Jehan have men, bodyguards following us. If they find out that they're not the only ones watching us, then it's going to affect this mission. Besides, the kidnappers were after Ashley not me."

Kristin wasn't worried about the bodyguards. She was worried about them finding out about Keira. And she hated being watched.

"Okaaay.., makes sense, I'll let them know."

"Before I forget, here." Kat handed her an envelope.

Kristin opened it and found 300 euros inside. "What's this for?"

"It's from headquarters…for your birthday. Well, not your real birthday. Kristin Watts' birthday. They understand how stressful this must be…so they want you to have some fun. This isn't much, but it's something."

Kristin wrapped her arms around her. It was really nice to talk to someone on the same side as hers where she doesn't have to pretend anymore. "Thank you."

"That's why they sent me here." Kat patted her back. "Hang in there. It's going to be over soon. When we get them, you'll see this is all worth it." Kristin nodded on her shoulder and let out a deep breath.

Kristin knew she needed to stop this before it gets out of hand, somehow, without the affecting the mission.

It was getting very late. Lucy had been waiting in her car for half an hour. To keep herself from dozing off, she turned on the radio to hard rock. She just hoped whoever it was didn't go out the backdoor. Luckily, there were a few people going into the apartment but nobody came out. By this time, people should be going home to sleep. Another half hour went by and she didn't notice any suspicious person that came out of the apartment. She realized that it was also possible that the person decided to stay over for the night. _This is such a bad idea_. Seeing how late it was, she decided to drive home.

Lucy's apartment 11:00PM

Back inside her apartment, Lucy found Scud sleeping and snoring on her couch. He fell asleep while waiting for her to come home. He had not seen her all day. Careful not to wake him, Lucy slowly put down her keys on the coffee table and quietly walked to the bathroom to get the first aid kit. As soon as she walked out of the bathroom, Scud already woke up and was wiping his eyes.

"Hey, you're back. Where have you been?" Scud asked in his husky voice.

"Hey." She sat down on the couch and put the first aid kit next to her.

"Are you hurt?"

The brunette did not respond. She opened one of the antiseptic pads and wiped over the wound on her neck. When he saw the neck wounds, he quickly moved next to her and helped her. "What happened?"

"It's been one crazy day." She winced in pain from the stinging sensation caused by the antiseptic.

"Looks like a knife wound." He said as he taped some bandage on her neck.

When he was done with the neck wound, she lifted her shirt and showed him the wound on the back.

"Jesus, Luce!" Scud said when he saw the dried up blood over the deep cut. "The reason I don't want you to go to work is so you can get some rest, not get hurt.

"Ouch!…" She yelped as Scud tried to wipe the blood off with the pads.

After he was done cleaning and dressing up the wound, Lucy got up and went to the kitchen to get some snacks and water. He patiently waited for her to come back. She told him about meeting Kristin and Michel at the cinema, the thief and the possibility of Kristin hiding someone in her apartment. And the part about her and Kristin, well, she felt that he didn't need to know that, so she intentionally left that out.

"Should we have someone follow her?"

Lucy pondered for a moment. "I don't think we'll be able to find anything that way. She's being very careful." Scud nodded in agreement. "I'll try to get close to her, see what she's hiding." She said as she munched on a cookie.

"I'm sure you will." This response earned him a smack on the shoulder.

"So you saw Michel and Kristin at the movies….are they dating?" Scud said while rubbing his shoulder.

"Nope…she's not into him, but I know Michel likes her." Lucy immediately responded and turned on the tv.

"And how do you know that?"

"Alexis told me." She put another cookie into her mouth.

"Wait…Alexis told you Kristin doesn't like her dad?" Scud was now extremely confused.

"No, Kristin told me that…Alexis told me that her dad likes Kristin."

"Wow…Thank goodness Kristin isn't into him…I mean, that would be just weird…the guy may be good looking and rich, but isn't she a little too young for him."

"Tell me about it…." Lucy shivered at the thought. She had nothing against Michel. If he were dating some other young chick, she wouldn't care. But this is Kristin they're talking about, she could be Amy, she's not going to let someone take the blonde away from her. Since they were on the subject of talking about Michel, she remembered something that was bothering her.

"How does Michel know that I'm gay?"

"He does?"

"I think Michel was trying to set me up with Alexis. Because at Ashley's birthday party, he told me to take her out shopping and go to the movies and…he said…." She held both of her hands up, each hand holding up the index and middle finger and crooking them as she spoke. "…do whatever you girls do." Scud's jaw immediately dropped.

"He did not say that?" Scud was shocked.

Lucy nodded "mmm hmmm…he did….the more I think about it now, it does seem like he was trying to set me up."

Scud pondered for a moment. "No…that's not like him. I've never heard him swear or talk about woman when we're alone. It doesn't sound like him. Maybe he didn't mean it that way.

Lucy shrugged. "Maybe..." She didn't really care since she had no interest in Alexis. _If he did know I was gay, then he must have liked me enough to set me up with his daughter._

"So Michel knows his daughter is gay?"

"That's what Alexis told me."

"How does Alexis know you're gay?"

"Oh…Alexis said one of the waitress at the Café de Paris knows the girl from my blind date." She said while chewing on a cookie.

After eating a few cookies and drinking some water, her stomach was no longer growling. "Well, I'm going take a shower and go to bed. I'm going to go surprise her in the morning, see who she's hiding."

"Wait, you're just going to her apartment early in the AM to see her….Don't you need an excuse?"

"I'll think of something." Lucy said smiling and went to her master bedroom.

Just a couple of days ago, he was told that Kristin was upset with her and it didn't seem that they were that close that she could just show up in her apartment. Now from what Lucy had just said, it seemed that that was not the case anymore.

"Looks like I'll be going to work alone again." He said but no one heard. From the way she was smiling, he knew Lucy had once again left some juicy details out of the events that had happened tonight. He rolled his eyes and let out a big sigh. After a moment, he got up and yelled loudly so that she could hear him from her bedroom. "LUCY, YOU HAVE TO TELL ME ALL THE DETAILS OR I AM NOT GOING TO HELP YOU…YOU GOT THAT!" With that, he walked towards the door and slammed it hard behind him.

Inside the bedroom, Lucy just smiled at her friend's outburst.

* * *

In the hospital

An elderly woman lay on a hospital bed in a private room. Next to her sat Michel and Alexis, both had a look of worry. On a comfortable sofa slept a very tired Ashley.

"Alexis, it's getting late, Jehan will take you and Ashley home. I'll stay with her tonight." Michel held his mother's hand.

"Dad, is grandma going to be ok?"

"Doctor said she's stable now. She's going to be ok." Michel tried to assure her, but deep down he wasn't so sure himself. In Michel's eyes, his mother was the most caring and understanding woman. When he told her about his plans of marrying his girlfriend at age 19, she never tried to talk him out of it. All she did was supported him and helped him through the difficult times of his life. In order for him to continue with his studies in college, she even quit her career to take care of his first born, Alexis.

Elizabeth Pascal, the wife of Benjamin Couric, worked as an art teacher in a middle school when she was younger. She met Benjamin Couric through a friend in her 30's and married him after 3 years of dating. What attracted her to him were his hardworking qualities, intelligence, and kindness. The fact that he helped support his parents even after graduating from college showed her that he was very caring and family oriented. After giving birth to Michel, she continued to work in the job she loved while her husband worked as a financial analyst working his way up in a large company at that time. Even after her husband became financially stable and was able to fully support the family, she did not quit her job. As an art teacher, she had no interest in her husband's businesses. Both loved to have more children but unfortunately, she was not able to give Michel any siblings due to health issues and had miscarried twice. However, with Michel as her only child, she was able to devote all of her attention to him and was extremely happy with the way he turned out.

When Benjamin Couric walked into the private room, he was ignored by Michel and Alexis.

As a young child, Alexis noticed the cold attitude his father had towards his dad. All these years, she never experienced the love that other granddaughters have from their grandfather. It was her grandmother who gave her the motherly love that she never had and taught her how to become an open-minded, lively, confident, creative, and caring person. It was her grandmother who got her interested in the field of art that ultimately led her to pursue a career in fashion design. It was her grandmother who had encouraged her to seek her birth mother. She was the reason why she worked odd jobs so she can learn new things. Her grandma had taught her that the only way to live fully, to experience life, to find yourself is to not walk the easy path, a path that somebody else has chosen for you. Without her, they would never visit her grandfather on special occasions. Still today, she wondered what the reason was that set off their bad relationship.

"Michel, I just spoke with the doctor. She's going to be all right. Why don't you take the girls home and come back tomorrow? I'll be with her tonight."

After a moment of silence, seeing that her dad did not respond, Alexis pulled slightly at her dad's arm. "Dad?"

Michel got up and looked at his dad. "Alright, if anything happens, I mean anything, you have to call me." His father nodded. Michel walked over to the sofa and carried Ashley in his arms and left the room. Before leaving, Alexis saw how sad her grandfather was. She believed that he too was worried, so she decided to walk towards him to give him a hug. Wrapping her arms around him, she did not say a word. After a moment, she let go and walked out of the room, leaving the elderly man standing silently with a small smile slowly appearing on his face. That was first time he felt her embrace.

* * *

Breathing heavily, she ran up the stairs. She could hear them following her. She ran as high up as she could go and there in front of her, was a steel door. Luckily, the door was only locked by a barrel bolt. The lock was tight. After jiggling it several times, she was finally able to slide it open. Kicking the door with all her strength, the door slammed hard against the wall on the other side. She ran to the ledge looking for any ladder or anything to help her escape. Sweat was dripping down her forehead. Her heart was pounding and she was panting heavily. There was no escape and she couldn't find anything on the roof to defend herself against those who were catching up to her. She stood on the ledge of the roof looking down. _Is this the end?_

"Give up, you have nowhere else to go." One of the men yelled out behind her. There were five of them and all had guns.

"Stand back or I'm going to jump." She warned.

"Don't do this." The men spread out and tried to get close to her.

The man on one end spoke to try to get her attention. "We're not going to hurt you." He said while putting his gun away. The others did the same.

"We just need you to come with us." He continued.

When the man on the other end saw that she wasn't looking his way, he ran up and tried to grab her arm. Feeling the grip on her left forearm, she violently flung her arm to break free of his grasp. As a result of using too much force, she lost balance.

"Aaahhhh!" She cried out as loud as she could as she fell from the top of the Eiffel Tower. The drop was so long, it felt like there was no end to it. After a while, she could no longer scream and just closed her eyes, waiting for the end to meet her. Suddenly, she felt one arm behind her legs and another arm on her back, carrying her. She was no longer falling hard, just slowly descending at a turtle's pace. She opened her eyes and turned to look at her savior.

"Hi"

"Keira?"

The brunette was wearing a dark outfit with a black cape with an image of a pyramid shaped diamond on her chest. The suit was so tight, it showed her defined muscles. After looking around and realizing she was still in the air, she panicked and grabbed hold of anything around her, wrapping her arms around her neck.

"Easy…I've got you." She flashed her signature diamond smile at her.

"You – you've got me, who's got you?" She said in a high pitch voice.

Without saying a word, she kept her eyes locked onto the brunette's dark brownish eyes as the cape crusader slowly flew down to safe ground.

Once they landed, the brunette carefully let her down on the ground. "You're safe now."

"My hero." Kristin whispered and leaned in to kiss her…passionately.

She wrapped her hands around her neck while the brunette held her tightly around her waist. Tasting the smooth sweet lips of her savior, her heart began to beat faster. After a while, out of breath, Kristin pulled back, panting heavily to get air into her lungs. Keira, however, was still breathing normally, and continued to place gentle kisses on her cheek then along her neck, making her shiver. She had no idea what was going through her mind at the moment. But she knew what Keira was doing to her was driving her absolutely crazy and she didn't want her to stop. Then she heard something. Two short sound. "Did you hear that?" She whispered, her eyes still closed. The brunette did not respond and continued to place a trail of small kisses down her neck. When she felt warm hands on her stomach slowly gliding up to her chest, she could feel goose bumps rising on her arms, body, and neck. Her breathing became quick and she let out an involuntary moan. _Oh God!_ She could feel herself getting "started." The brunette once again captured her lips. After a moment, when the annoying sound kept repeating, she finally couldn't stand it any longer and reluctantly opened her eyes. Sonofabitch! She shouted when she found herself on her bed, snuggling a pillow.

"Who's ringing the bell so early in the morning? " She yelled. Frustrated with whoever interrupted her wet dream, she angrily got up and walked to the door to see who it was. Dressed in her sleeping clothes and with her hair all messed up, she opened the chained door. She was so angry, she forgot to look through the peephole first.

Surprised with whom she saw at the other side of the door, she immediately slammed the door shut. Quickly, she used her fingers to brush her hair and wiped her eyes clean. Before opening the door, she let out a deep breath.

"Hi Keira, what are you doing here?" She said calmly, smiling. "Sorry about that, the chain is kind of stuck."

"Hi, sorry to disturb you, were you still sleeping?"

"Yea…I was actually….but I'm happy to see you." Kristin said, smiling and invited her inside.

Once inside the apartment, she noticed that Kristin was a wearing a blue tank top and blue boy shorts. Her hair was still a little messy and she could tell that she must be sweating in her sleep since the tank top was a little wet. Unable to control herself, her eyes scanned the beautiful woman with the perfect body in front her, from her chest to her long legs and back up again, swallowing a few times.

When Kristin noticed the way she looked at her, she realized what she was wearing and quickly excused herself and walked to the bathroom. Once inside the bathroom, looking at herself in the mirror, she noticed how red here cheeks were. _Oh my god! _Keira obviously noticed it as well. Trying to calm herself down and hoping to get her normal skin color back, she breathed in and out, in and out repeatedly. _Damn it, it's not working. _As she walked out of the bathroom, she covered one side of her face with a hand towel.

"Hey Keira, I'm going to take a quick shower. Help yourself in the kitchen." Quickly, she walked into the bedroom, grabbed her clothing, shut the door and walked back into the bathroom.

Seeing that the blonde had shut the bedroom door, Keira didn't think it would be a good idea to go in there. The blonde did say it was going to be a quick shower. So she went into the kitchen instead. She opened one of the kitchen cabinets and saw how empty it was. _She must be hiding in there last night. _It looked like it could fit a thin female. That mystery person couldn't have slept on the small couch. She couldn't have slept in Kristin's bed because she knew that the bedroom could only fit a twin-sized bed. So she must have left last night. Unable to find anything else unusual, she decided to go back to the living room to watch tv.

After a few minutes, the bathroom door opened.

"Hey, sorry to keep you waiting. Did you find everything ok?" She asked while drying her hair. She was wearing a white short sleeve shirt with horizontal pink lines with some pictures in the center and a gray ¾ length pants with side and back pockets. The outfit was perfect for the summer time.

Lucy nodded and kept her eyes on the blonde as she walked over to sit next to her. "So…what brought you here so early?"

"Oh…right…Since I don't have your number, I thought I dropped by to see if you're free today. I was wondering if you would like to go to Disneyland with me."

Last night, she promised her to go out with her, but she didn't realize it was going to be this soon. "Don't you have to go to work?" Kristin asked.

Lucy wasn't sure if she ever told her what she does for a living, so she decided to not give her all the details for now. "Not today….I took a day off. "

_She took a day off so she could go out with me._ _That is so sweet._ "Let me call Michel to see if he need me to take care of Ashley today." Since it was still early, they decided to go eat breakfast first and call later.

At a small diner, Lucy ordered herself scrambled eggs, toast, breakfast potatoes and coffee. She wondered what the blonde would eat for breakfast. If she were Amy, she would order a tofu scramble or some sort of vegetarian meal or drink.

"I'll have the same with orange juice." She said to the waitress.

"So, I'm guessing you're not a vegetarian." Lucy asked after the waitress left.

"Me?…no…I don't think I could ever become a vegetarian…I just don't know how others do it."

_So she's not a vegetarian._

"I don't think I can last a week without eating meat. But I do know someone who's a vegetarian and she sure loves her smoothies. Can you imagine eating tofu scramble for breakfast? ...Yuck…I don't know how she eats that stuff."

"Tofu scramble? I wonder what that would taste like." Kristin noticed the way she talked about her friend.

Lucy was disappointed to learn that she's not a vegetarian. "Do you want to try some?" Lucy motioned for the waitress to come to her table and asked for tofu scramble. Unfortunately the waitress had no idea what that is.

"Maybe you could get the recipe from your friend?"

"Actually, I haven't seen her for 2 years, so I don't know where she is….we lost contact." Keira said, looking at Kristin, hoping she would believe her. She had wanted to her try the tofu scramble to see her reaction.

When Kristin was about to ask more questions, the waitress came with the food. Keira knew she had to change the subject and fast. _I'm here to find more about her, not the other way around._ She reminded herself.

"So where are you from?" Lucy asked after taking a sip of her coffee.

"Iowa, you?"

"Spain, have you been there?"

"No, but I would love to go someday. You know, that's where a lot of the famous artists get their ideas. If I get a chance to go there, I would want to see everything: the Sagrada Familia in Barcelona, the Museo del Prado, Picasso Museum, and try their paella. That's one of my dreams."

The way Kristin talked about art, it reminded her of Amy. She and Amy had been to all of those places. But she didn't find it as interesting as Amy did. What she did think about when she was at the museum was how to steal the paintings. She would never steal again, of course. It was one way to keep her mind active and occupied while Amy can spend her time admiring the paintings.

As Lucy placed her hand over hers, the blonde stopped eating and slowly turned to look at her.

Lucy said softly. "If you would like to go, I can take you…tomorrow. Maybe we can spend a few days there. You don't have to worry about money. We can go to Madrid for one day, then Barcelona, then…" As she continued talking, Kristin gazed at her. She could not believe that this woman whom she just met for a couple of days was already trying to fulfill one of her dreams.

"…after that, we could ride on one of those gondola boats, just you and me, with the guy singing in the back. What do you think?"

After a moment, the blonde burst out laughing. She was laughing so loud, she attracted the attention of everyone in the restaurant.

"What's so funny?"

"You just said the gondola. That's in Venice, not Spain." She said while holding her stomach. She laughed so hard, her belly hurts.

Lucy realized that Kristin had been staring at her but had not been listening. The blonde didn't hear the part where she said she would take her to Italy after the trip to Spain. Not wanting to embarrass her, she said.

"Oh…well, maybe they have one in Spain since they have one in Las Vegas."

When she was finally able to control her laughter, she extended her hand out to touch Lucy's face. "You are just so sweet." She pulled her hand back. "Thank you…but I don't think I can."

"Why not?"

"For one thing, don't you have to go to work?"

"Ummm...about that, I never told you what I do for a living. Did I?" Kristin shook her head. "I…own a company and I have Scott to manage it with me. So I don't have to go to work if I don't want to."

Kristin knew she could afford a lot of things when she saw the type of car she was driving and the apartment she was living in. But she didn't know that she could be the owner of a company, at such a young age.

"Oh…but I have to work."

"Can't you take a few days off? I'm sure Michel wouldn't mind. We could take the plane and we'll be there in 3 hours." The blonde did not say anything. Lucy noticed her hesitation and did not want to push her. "Think about it and when you feel you can, just let me know." Hearing that, Kristin nodded and smiled.

If she didn't have something else to do, she would have said yes at that moment. _I wonder if they let me. They did tell me to have some fun to get the stress out. _She thought to herself.

After breakfast, they decided to walk around the block before calling Michel since it was still early. Walking side by side, both did not say anything and just enjoyed the beautiful sunny morning, breathing in the fresh air. Both took a glance of each other from time to time and smiled. They were like kids walking with their first love. Several times, their hands touched when they tried to avoid people passing by them. Kristin thought the brunette was going to hold her hand but was disappointed when she did not. They continued to walk side by side, just wasting time.

As they walked through a more crowded street, someone bumped into Kristin from behind. After he apologized and before he started to walk away, Kristin grabbed a hold of his wrist and twisted it so that his arm was on his back. While he screamed in pain, she kicked the back of his knee causing him to kneel on the ground. Everyone around them watched as she yelled out 'pickpocket' to let everyone know what was happening. Lucy was stunned at what she saw. The blonde took out the wallet from his coat pocket and asked Lucy to see if it was hers. In another coat pocket, she found another wallet and gave it to Lucy to check.

"Looks like he's been busy." Lucy said.

When Kristin turned her head towards Lucy, another man from behind ran towards her and pushed her aside and into the brunette. He quickly helped the other 'pickpocket' get off the ground and both ran away. Luckily, Lucy was able to hold her balance and wrapped her arms around the blonde to prevent her from falling.

"Are you alright?" Lucy asked.

"Yea, I'm fine."

Lucy asked holding another wallet. "Should we go to the police station?" In her mind, she hoped she didn't have to.

As Kristin was about to speak, a women in her 50's walked up to them and they were able to confirm that the wallet belonged to her.

"So, looks like I'm not the only one with some self defense skills." Lucy asked as they started walking back to the car.

"I took a few Tae Kwon Doe classes when I was a kid." She lied.

"Oh?…what color belt?"

"black"

"Which level?"

"8th"

Lucy stopped walking. Shocked at what she just heard.

8th dan is the second grandmaster level. There are 10 dan levels and the last level is the honorary grandmaster level. It takes many years to reach that level. For her to reach that level at her age is very impressive.

When Kristin said she wasn't a vegetarian, Lucy wasn't happy about it because Amy had always been a vegetarian. But then she thought if a person could convert to vegetarianism during their lifetime, then the other way around could be possible too. Now finding out that the blonde does have some martial arts skills, there is a strong possibility that she could be Amy. "So I guess you could have taken out that guy the other night too."

Kristin looked at her and told her the truth. "Yes…if he didn't have a knife against your throat." She extended her hand out to touch her neck. "Does it still hurt?"

Taking the opportunity, Lucy reached for her hand, held it firmly and brought it to her chest. With the back of her hand against the brunette's chest, the blonde could feel the rapid beating of her heart.

"Not anymore." Still holding her hand, she lowered it to her side and both started walking slowly towards the car. With palm clasped together, they swung it back and forth like a swing. Both were smiling.

"I think I should I call Michel now." Kristin said. Lucy nodded and reluctantly let go of her hand.

Hiding her hands behind her back, Lucy crossed her fingers hoping that the blonde wouldn't have to baby sit Ashley today.

"Hi, Michel. I was wondering if you need me to take care of Ashley today." She said while looking at the brunette. "uh huh..okay..okay….I'll be right there." She hung up.

Hearing the last sentence, Lucy's heart dropped and her smile quickly disappeared. Her plans just got ruined.

"Hey, how about we take Ashley with us?"

"Sure…that'll work." She said with a fake smile. _Well, I guess it's better than not seeing her at all. _She started walking and the blonde followed from behind.

When she reached the car, Lucy took out her keys. She wasn't too happy about taking the kid with her. Even though she likes Ashley, she was looking forward to their date. _A date should be just the two of us._ She can just picture it now. She probably can't even hold her hands with the kid tagging along. Every ride in Disneyland, the kid would be between them. She wouldn't be able to touch her, to feel her, or even kiss her. _Well, I probably can't kiss her anyway with all those kids around._ _Today is just going to be awful._ _It would be like…like…babysitting. _She sighed out loud.

From behind her, Kristin noticed she was standing next to the car for a long time. She knew what the brunette was thinking.

"Hey, is everything alright?" Kristin asked from behind.

Lucy turned around. "Yeah…fine…just fine." She turned back to what she was doing before, fumbling with her keys.

With a smirk, Kristin walked up behind her and whispered into her ear. "Got ya." Lucy's head shot up and watched Kristin smile at her as she walked to the other side of the car. Realizing that she had been totally fooled by the blonde, her disappointment turned into a smile and started to chase after her. _Who says blondes are dumb? _Running in circles around the car, playing the cat and mouse game, she could see that the blonde was having a lot of fun when she stuck her tongue at her. Lucy wasn't even sure what she would do when she catches her. They've been running for a few minutes now and both were breathing hard. _Somebody has to give up and it's not going to be me._

Seeing that the blonde had stopped to take a rest, Lucy took this opportunity and ran after her again. "Owww!" She cried out and dropped to the ground.

Kristin quickly ran towards her and knelt down next to her. "Are you ok?"

"Yeah…just hit my knee…" She winced in pain while rubbing her 'injured' knee. She had accidentally bumped right knee against the corner of the bumper.

Kristin helped the brunette up and walked towards the driver's side. When she saw the brunette limping, she held out her hand. "Give me your keys, I'll drive."

"You know how to drive?"

"I might not have a car, but I do have a license." She wiggled her fingers as a signal to have her hand the keys over.

The brunette hesitated.

"Trust me."

Lucy took her keys out and slowly dropped it onto her palm. "Be careful, she's my baby." She said and Kristin rolled her eyes.

Disneyland

9AM

"We're here." It took an hour to get there. She turned off the engine and took the keys out. "See…no scratches." Lucy was extremely impressed with her driving, no sudden stops, no sudden turns that could make people nauseous, just a smooth ride all the way. Unlike Amy, she was a better driver.

"Have you been here before?" Lucy asked.

"I have…with Ashley…maybe this time, I can get to ride the space mountain."

"Sounds good to me."

As she walked over to the driver side to open the door, the blonde stared at her. Kristin got out of the car and pointed to it. "Your knee?"

Lucy stretched her leg a few times. "Well, what do you know? It doesn't hurt anymore." She winked at her and smirked and the blonde realized that she had been tricked.

"Shall we?" The brunette offered her hand out which the blonde happily accepted it.

At the ticket counter, Lucy asked for two 1-day tickets to all the parks with fast pass. As she was about to take out the money, Kristin stopped her. "Wait…let me pay for it."

"What?…no…you don't have to….I asked you out, remember?"

"That doesn't mean you have to pay for everything."

Seeing how insistent she was on paying, Lucy agreed.

* * *

It was a long day. The first ride they took was the space mountain. It was as fun and exciting as Kristin thought it would be. They rode on the Big Thunder Mountain, the Indiana Jones and the Temple of Peril, the RC Racer, and other rides that she never been on when she was there with Ashley. Thank goodness she bought the fast pass, otherwise they'd have to stand in line for half an hour to get on each ride.

"Do you want to go on the Buzz Lightyear ride before lunch?" Lucy asked.

"The loser pays for lunch. Ok?" Kristin suggested.

"Deal." _Now I can see how well she shoots. Amy may be a good shooter, but not as good as me._

Once inside the ride, each started shooting as soon as they were allowed to. The ride lasted 5 minutes and Lucy won the bet. Kristin was stunned silent when she saw the score…over 800,000 points.

"What?" Lucy said when she saw the shocked look on the blonde's face.

"2 out of 3."

"You're on."

They went on the ride another time and this time Kristin won….over 600,000 points.

"Not fair…my laser was broken…there is no way I could get less than 10,000 points." Lucy complained.

"Maybe the laser was broken the first time." Kristin countered. "All right, one more time and no complaining. Whoever loses buys lunch."

"and the winner gets to ask a question, the loser has to respond truthfully." Lucy added. "Deal?"

Kristin hesitated. She did not expect that. She had so many secrets. She pondered for a moment.

"Deal?" Lucy repeated.

"and the loser has to do whatever the winner says" Kristin decided to add more to the bet. It's sort of like playing poker. She was hoping the brunette would back out.

Now it was Lucy's turn to hesitate. _Looks like she thinks she's going to win._

"…just for today…" Lucy added.

"Deal!" Kristin decided. _I just have to make sure I win._

Inside the dark room, they aimed for the targets with the most points: Diamond (5000 points) and the Triangle (10,000 points). Halfway through the ride, Lucy was on top with Kristin not too far behind. The blond shifted the joystick to rotate the omnimover space vehicle to shoot a Triangle. Success. They're almost at the end of the ride and Kristin now had more points. All Lucy needed now was a diamond and that would put her on top. The ride began to slow down and the blonde kept shooting everything she sees, mostly round targets (100 points).

"Ah hah…found you." Lucy shouted.

Hearing her shout out, Kristin turned to look at the brunette. She saw the brunette aiming her laser with the right hand and her left hand holding the joystick. Quickly she dropped her own laser, shifted her body next to her, and crushed her lips onto the brunette's, hoping to distract her shooting. That worked. When the ride was over, Kristin finally pulled away with Lucy staring at her, eyes wide open, motionless.

Still stunned at the unexpected kiss, Lucy did not move and kept her gaze at the blonde.

"Are you coming?" Kristin asked as she got off the vehicle.

In the exit queue, she could see her score was one of the top 10. Behind her, Lucy whispered into her ear. "That wasn't fair."

Kristin turned around and cupped her cheeks. "As I recall, we didn't set any rules. Now stop complaining and let's go eat." She grabbed her hand and pulled her outside.

It was a beautiful day. Sitting on a round table outside the restaurant eating hamburger and fries, Kristin noticed that the brunette was still upset with the whole thing_. I would too if I'd lost._ _She's so cute when she's mad. _She chuckled to herself.

What started out as a little chuckle turned into loud uncontrollable laugh. Hearing the blonde laugh so hard, Lucy could not help but look at her. _She even laughs like Amy. _A smile slowly appeared on her face and she was no longer upset. Nothing mattered anymore as long as she could see her again.

"Sorry..." Kristin apologized. "I just can't help myself."

"Okay, I lost. Now what would you like me to do for you and what do you want to ask me?"

Kristin tilted her head and tapped her lips with her fingers, thinking. She didn't want the brunette to do anything for her. She just didn't want to lose the bet.

"I can't think of anything right now."

"Well, just remember, it's only for today. It expires at the stroke of midnight, Cinderella." Both smiled at each other.


End file.
